HP: Chaos of the Phoenix
by Jonn Wolfe
Summary: Bloodties Universe: After the TriWizard Tournament, Harry's Nightmares provoke a change in his biology. Dormant complications from his meeting with a Basilisk and a Phoenix come to the fore in time to save two very important people in his life. H/Hr/L, Nev/Sus.B/Han.A, Remus/Tonks, Sirius/?
1. Assault

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter One  
- Assault -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except what I write._

_THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT. If this is taken favourably, I'll proceed with it. I would appreciate honest feedback by those that are more familiar with the Potter books than I am. If this is taken well, it will move forward._

_This story begins in the summer before the Order of the Phoenix. It involves a H/Hr/L triangle, Manipulative!Dumbledore, Independent!Harry, Basilisk/Phoenix Altered!Harry and is completely AU from the start._

_Ideas for this have come from many sources. Several involve Luna, others are about the structure of the Wizengamot and Harry's lineage. Hermione's going to have one hell of a surprise on her hands._

_Sources: Many… and just bits and pieces. I solemnly swear that I shall never plagiarize a plot, just a device or concept. In many ways, it's simply me nabbing everything I've ever liked about certain stories and putting them together for my own sake. Technically, I'm writing it for myself. However, I will appreciate feedback. I'll also appreciate a kind boot to the tookus whenever I get something completely and blatantly wrong. _

_Among the varied stories that I've borrowed certain things from:_

_Luna - __Help of a Seer__ by __Aealket__  
(Her family retreat and Druidic Magick. Partial seer abilities, but nothing world breaking. It'll make sense later. And, they're not really seer abilities...)_

_Harry - __The Consequences of Honest Dialog__ by __jacee2u__, __A New Order__ by __Edmond O'Donald__  
(Mostly on how Dumbles is a twisted do-gooder that believes he has a mandate from God to do whatever the hell he thinks is right for the greater good. Also, some biology issues.)_

_Hermione – Me! Ahahahahahaha  
(did get another biology issue from A New Order, and it will be funny, but that's it.)_

_As stated, this will have a trinary relationship between Harry, Hermione and Luna. All three will become Animagi with some help from a Godfather._

_Lastly: As an American, I may botch some British colloquialisms. Research does help, but prod me if I get something rather blatantly wrong. With spelling, I use a British spell checker and I hope I wont mess that up too much._

_Initial internal prompt that I thought was funny, and ran with it: _

* * *

"_What? I'm Welsh? How in the hell is Potter a _Welsh_ name?" ~ Harry_

"_The base name is Crochenydd, actually. They converted to English a few hundred years ago." ~ Neville_

"_Gesundheit. Merlin, I'm Welsh. Guess I have to be depressed and complain about how no one cares if I fall into the sea or not." ~ Harry_

"_Par for the course, innit?" ~ Seamus_

"_Stuff it, Finnigan. So, the four Lords are Welsh, English, Scottish and Irish?" ~ Harry_

"_No, no, no. Wales, Southern England, Northern England and Scotland. The Irish don't count." ~ Neville gets hit with a flying pillow._

"_Fuck off, Longbottom!" ~ Seamus_

"_You have your own bloody country!" ~ Neville_

"_Harry's a Lord?" ~ Ron_

"_Keep up, Weasley!" ~ Dean_

* * *

_**Chapter One  
- Assault -**_

Too many things have happened in Harry's life to make him think that he had any sort of control over it. The Dursleys, Dumbledore, Voldemort, all of them had power over him. It was a bitter pill to swallow, not having a say in anything concerning himself, but he had done his best to weather the storm.

Now, Tom Riddle had a reformed body of some sort. Didn't look altogether human either. That Harry was _used_ to make it happen was another notch in the things that were out of his hands. Cedric's death was a cyanide filled cherry on top of a rather crap cake of pants, and he hated himself over it.

It went without saying that he felt guilty. Not that any of it was his fault, but the fact that nearly everything that happened to others involved him in one way or another? Well, it simply sucked. Now that he was back in the horrid home of the Dursleys, everything was back to normal: All Fucked Up.

It was only a week, but he'd hoped to hear from the others. Maybe they were giving him time, or something. Not that Ron ever wrote that much anyway, but he really wanted to hear from Hermione. He did get an interesting, if cryptic, letter on his pillow from Luna that talked about crumple-horned snorkacks something or other. He never saw an owl, and the window was shut. If Hedwig knew anything, she wasn't saying.

Luna had rather nice penmanship, though.

Now it was back to early morning cooking, cleaning everything, and tending the lacklustre garden while trying not to get beaten on a daily basis. Oh right, lets not forget eating next to nothing. Gluttonous pigs.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, long before the sun was to arrive, Harry was tossing in his bed – lost in the throes of his latest mare of the night.

* * *

_Vaporous images reminiscent of viewing a pensieve flicked all over, circling him in the grey expanse: Cedric's death by Wormtail; being stabbed in the arm; whippings and beatings from Uncle Vernon and Dudley; Quirrel disintegrating from his own hands; that odd bit when his and Voldemort's wands connected; seeing his parents in that miasma; the sight of Hermione completely frozen from that damned overgrown snake; talking to her while she was petrified for months; the pain of the venom as it coursed through his veins; the somewhat pleasant and painful war in his blood between the venom and Fawks' tears; All of them were memories of his most horrid moments._

_The circling images around him changed to reveal something worse. Two points of view in different locations. In one was a stark white, long haired man on the floor of some sort of strange stone hovel style home. The sight of him kept zooming in and backing off in rapid succession. He actually felt his teeth sinking into the man's skin._

_The other point of view was of an upper crust suburban muggle neighbourhood. It was as if he were walking down the pavement, simply admiring the different homes at night. He felt himself smile as he read the name on the box beside the door of one home, and felt a cold chill go completely through him: _

_Granger. _

_He saw his hand, pale and slightly misshapen, raise an oddly shaped wand to the door. The light leapt from the tip and battered the door into kindling with a large boom._

* * *

"Shut up!" Uncle Vernon's voice pierced the dream as pain lanced the side of his face. "Stop this wailing! You'll wake the entire neighbourhood with your freak ways!" Pain lanced through the other side of his head from his Uncle's knuckles, and something deep inside of him snapped.

Unthinking, his right hand came up in an open handed flare of light, and his Uncle suddenly wasn't there any more. The sound of him hitting the far wall, _along with a lot of swearing_, was very satisfying.

Up from the bed faster than he could think, his wand flew from its hiding place to his outstretched hand. Instincts in charge of him now, his wand flicked a silent unlocking charm to Hedwig's cage, then another to open the window. The bars that were over it were blown apart by an equally silent bludgeoning charm. Sirius' name flew out of his mouth while he was looking at Hedwig, then a bright warmth filled him from head to foot.

Suddenly, he was in another bedroom filled with screams. Kneeling as he spun, a head of bushy brown hair hit his shoulder and the bright warmth filled him again.

Now he was in a strange hovel, with the bushy haired one clinging to him. The shrieking from the second bedroom started again when a rather large snake became visible. Harry barely registered the bushy haired one's legs wrapping around him, as he knelt again and grabbed a wide eyed blond.

* * *

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin sat bolt upright in their rooms when the sound of a ward alarm blared. Grabbing their wands, one from under a pillow, the other from a night stand, they met in the hall and stared at each other.

"What's-" Remus started.

Sirius held his hand up and whispered, "Kreacher."

A small pop heralded an elderly house elf who was so old, his nose was almost fully bent down. His beady eyes glared at Sirius. "Two intruders in the entrance hallway with the Lost Daughter, Master. Shall Kreacher get rid of the unknowns?"

Sirius shook his head when he heard loud female sobbing. "Just hide away and be ready, Kreacher."

"As you wish, _Master_," the old house elf nodded petulantly as he disillusioned himself.

A quick look between them, Sirius and Remus headed for the main entrance. What they saw stopped them in their tracks. "Harry?" they both said.

Not three feet from the door, Harry was kneeling on the floor with whom could only be Hermione from the state of the hair, sobbing like mad in his right arm. A wide eyed, staring blond was wrapped in his left. He was rocking them both and whispering the word 'safe' over and over.

All of them were in various forms of bedclothes; muggle tees and pyjama bottoms for Hermione and Harry, and a nice yellow sleeping gown for the blond. While Harry's glasses were nowhere to be seen, all three of them had their wands out.

Remus and Sirius went quickly and knelt to check them over. Harry's face was similar to the blond's, only his eyes were half lidded. The blond didn't seem to be harmed, but Hermione had numerous scrapes and scratches on her arms.

"He's bleeding," Remus said, drawing attention to Harry's infamous scar. It looked to be fresh now, open and oozing thick blood down his face.

Sirius nodded. "Right, lets get them upstairs." He attempted to pull Hermione away, only for her to shriek in terror and clamp herself tighter to Harry.

"Hermione is in shock," the blond said in a far away voice. "You will not be able to separate her from him, nor should you. I am unsure if I can get loose from Harry, myself. His grip is quite tight, but it is not painful."

Remus leaned down to look her in the eye. "Do you know what happened… Miss?"

"Lovegood, sir, but you may call me Luna," her lilting voice was in stark contrast to the other two, who seemed to be somewhat catatonic. Luna appeared to be in focus, however. And if they knew her, that would've been quite disturbing. "I am unsure as to what happened to her or to Harry, but my father was killed in front of me tonight. Harry saved me from a rather large snake, and I suspect he saved Hermione as well. From what, I cannot say."

The men glanced at each other fearfully, then Sirius looked towards the rest of the house. "Kreacher."

There wasn't any noise as the elderly house elf reappeared, removing the disillusionment. "Yes, _Master Sirius_. What may Kreacher do for you?" he asked with a sneer.

"You said that the lost daughter was here," Sirius stated. "Were you referring to Miss Lovegood?"

The diminutive thing shook his head, and actually appeared to perk up with a smile. It was disturbing. "No, Master. Kreacher was referring to…"

"IT'S NOT TRUE!" Hermione screamed at the top of her lungs. "IT'S NOT! IT'S NOT! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT _UP_!"

Kreacher then surprised both Remus and Sirius when he took two steps and reached up to lightly pat Hermione's back. "There, there, Miss Meissa. It _will_ be all right."

"_SHUT UP_!" Hermione screamed again. "_IT'S A LIE_!" And with that, she started bawling again, curling tighter around Harry and burying her eyes into his neck.

Sirius' mouth dropped open as he gasped, connecting the dots to a very large constellation. Remus, on the other hand, was placidly calm and turned to Luna. "Where is your home, my dear?"

"Not far from The Burrow, sir," Luna said quietly. "The Weasleys are our… _my_ neighbours. Have you ever read the Quibbler? I think I will have to take up the quill for it now. I hope I can be as successful."

Remus didn't hear anything past 'neighbours', as he had run back up the stair to the main floo. He grabbed some powder and flung it into the embers. "Molly Weasley!" he shouted in a panic.

Meanwhile, Sirius shook his head rapidly to clear it. "Kreacher, please take these three to the main room and place them on the couch, then get some healing salve and bandages for their wounds." Kreacher nodded and popped them and himself out of the main hallway.

A face appeared in the green flames. "Fred? George? Are you all right?" Remus asked.

"It's George, sir. Aurors are here. It's a bloody _nightmare_!" His face turned away for a moment, and he looked back. "Tonks wants to speak to you."

He pulled back and Tonks face appeared. "Remus? We can't talk right now, sweetie. There's a full squad here." She looked away for a second, then whispered. "Death Eaters attacked The Burrow tonight."

"Who was hurt?" Remus demanded.

Her face twisted in pain. "The youngest two and Fred have been taken to Saint Mungos. It doesn't look good. We had to stun Molly. Arthur arrived just before you flooed. He was guarding you-know-what tonight."

Remus sighed. "Anyone else?"

"That's it. The place is a wreck. I think the ghoul is dead," she paused, then looked confused. "How did you know to call?"

"The Lovegood home was also attacked," Remus said, "along with the Granger house. Harry rescued Hermione and Luna and came straight here."

"How did he know the place?" she asked, quite shocked.

Remus shook his head. "I have no idea. It should be impossible, but it's Harry, so there's no telling."

"Are they all right?"

"Luna said her father is dead, and I think something similar happened to Hermione's parents from her state. Harry's scar is bleeding like mad." He paused as the three and Kreacher appeared a bit away from him. The diminutive elf immediately set to cleaning Hermione's wounds. "Is Mad Eye there?" Tonks nodded. "When he's done with everything, please tell him to come here."

"What about Dumbledore?"

He shook his head. "Let's wait till everything's settled before we wake him up. You know how he is at this hour. If you need to bring the Weasleys here, that should be all right."

Sirius interrupted him as he entered the room. "They can stay here."

"Did you hear that?" Tonks nodded again. "Talk to you soon, love." He blew her a kiss, and she reciprocated before ending the floo.

Sirius patted Remus on the shoulder when he stood up again. "Thanks for not mentioning the other."

"Didn't think it was prudent over the floo," Remus said.

"We should not be here when the Weasleys arrive," Luna's voice drifted in from the sitting room.

The men went to the other side of the room with confusion on their faces. "Why not?" Sirius asked.

She turned her head to look at them for the first time. "Scheming Whiskers must not know where we are."

"I beg your pardon?" Remus said, a bit shocked. "Do you mean Dumbledore?"

Luna nodded. "He will want to send Harry back to those horrid, abusive relatives of his, and use Hermione to win favour with the Ministry. This must not happen."

"How can you know that?" Remus asked.

Sirius glared. "Did you say _abusive_?"

Luna nodded to both questions. "I see many things, and can see much more now that papa is gone from this world. We must leave before the manipulative headmaster is made aware of our presence."

Remus knelt in front of her place at the couch. "Are you a Seer, my dear?"

Luna shook her head. "Not as you mean, but I can see many things. Whiskers sent young Harry to that abusive house on purpose. The Rat placed Hermione with rich muggles after her…" she paused to look at Hermione briefly and changed the sentence, "after Rudolphus and Bellatrix were sentenced to Azkaban. There is dark and black magick marring Harry's soul. I am unsure what it is, but it must be removed if he is to beat Tom Riddle."

She paused to breathe, and continued when they didn't say anything. "I have a place of refuge for them to stay and heal. I hope they will be there for me when I have time to cry, but we must go there before the choice is made."

"What choice?" Sirius asked.

She looked him in the eyes, and he saw pale blue light surrounding her iris. "The choice that places Harry in front of Voldemort's wand to die."

Sirius growled while Remus shook his head. "That can't be right."

She nodded again. "Whiskers' intention is clear. I have seen the prophecy. Harry can only be killed by Voldemort, while he can only be killed by Harry. This is Whiskers' way of ensuring that the dark magick that is in Harry will be permanently destroyed. While ingenious, it will most likely be fatal for Harry, and I will not allow that."

Sirius half grinned at the last bit. "And why is that, dear?"

She blinked and gave him a look of fire. "He saved my life. I owe him a life debt, and that is the _last_ of that discussion. Will you allow us to leave? The dog must come with us, but the wolf should stay here."

The men looked at each other and had a small silent conversation. When they looked back, they both nodded. "Harry's my godson," Sirius said. "I am _oathbound_ to protect him, so you'll have little choice in taking me with you."

"Very well. Thank you both. Is there a large tree on the property? I need one for travel."

"Treewalking?" Remus said with a touch of awe. "That explains so much about your father."

Sirius bent down to place his hand on Harry's head. "I'll be right back." Standing straight, he glanced at Remus. "Getting dressed." As he was leaving the room, he ordered Kreacher to gather supplies and clothing. The elf's grumblings began to echo, as he moved around the place in repetitive pops to follow the command.

* * *

Sirius came back into the room to see Luna failing to remove herself from Harry's grasp. The boy just held her tighter around the waist and shook his head. Conceding defeat for now, Luna had an idea. Gently placing her left hand on the side of his face, she pulled them together to whisper in his ear.

After a moment, Harry spoke. "Dobby," he whispered under his breath.

There was a pop, and the overly hyper free house elf was in front of them. Bouncing on his toes, _which were wearing mismatched socks of argyle and blue and yellow stripes_, he was extremely happy. "Harry Potter Sir! What can Dobby be doing for Harry Potter Sir?" His happy face then fell, along with his ears, as he saw Harry's state. "Is Harry Potter sir well?"

"Kind Dobby sir," Luna said, getting the elf's attention. "Harry and Hermione are recovering from attacks by he who must not be named. Will you help me move them to a safe place?"

Dobby's large eyes became even wider, and he bobbed his head rapidly. "Dobby beings happy to help Harry Potter and his my-knee and moon."

Luna smiled. "Thank you. Please set them to sleep so that I may show you where to take them."

As Dobby reached up to place his fingertips on Hermione's temple, Kreacher snarled. "Not his business! Do not touch Mistress Meissa!"

"Kreacher!" Sirius snapped. "Dobby will not harm her. Back off!"

Instead of acquiescing, Kreacher glared at Dobby and quickly reached up to Hermione's temple himself. Only after she sighed and relaxed into sleep, did he step back. "_Kreacher_ is House Black Elf, _not_ the Disgraced."

Blinking owlishly, Dobby reached up to set Harry to sleep. "Dobby is Harry Potter's servant. Free Elf, yes. Harry Potter freed Dobby from bad masters. Will aide Harry Potter and bonds with Harry Potter when he wants."

The three were bemused at the Elf politics happening in front of them. To break the tension, Luna rubbed Dobby's ear. "You do well, sir." Removing Harry's now limp arm from around her, she stood and looked at Dobby. "I need to go to the sanctuary. Since you have not been there, will you come when I call? After, you can bring Sirius, Harry and Hermione."

Turning her head from the rapid nodding, she looked at Sirius. "Can you show me where the tree is now? Time is precious and unfortunately short."

Leaving Remus to watch the others, and Kreacher to watch Dobby, which was all sorts of amusing, Sirius led Luna to the atrium of Grimmauld. More of a courtyard than a back garden, it had several targets for spell casting as well as a small reflective pond. In the centre was a rather old English Oak tree.

"This will do nicely," Luna said with a smile. Stepping up to the tree, she got acquainted with it by running her hands over the bark. "Ooh, they've hurt you," she commented with a frown. Kneeling, she placed a hand on what she considered a wound. It was actually a small carving that Arcturus placed many years ago. "Healed now, but that was rude."

Standing, she turned to face Sirius while leaning her back against the tree. "It should not be too long." And with that, she seemed to melt into the tree. The bark appeared to flow over her as she slipped backwards.

Sirius stood there blinking. "Damndest thing I've ever seen." Shaking his head, he headed back inside.

* * *

_**A/N:** Again, this is an experiment. If you like this, please let me know._


	2. Sanctuary

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Two  
- Sanctuary -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except what I write._

_Wow. I got a lot of positive feedback on this. Thanks so much. Will definitely set this up for updates in addition to my Whovian tales. _

_Got some concern over how I'm portraying Luna. Don't worry, she'll make sense here in a bit... as much as she does anyway. As a pureblood that hasn't had any interactions with the muggle/mundane world, she doesn't have any way to describe herself except as a Seer, even though the definition doesn't fit. Her 'imaginary creatures' will be identified, and will be picked up by Hermione as something completely different when Luna actually explains them._

_Hermione's experience from the last chapter will be alluded to in this chapter, and will crop up as a nightmare later._

_Harry's in a bit of a state at the moment, and that will become readily apparent quite soon._

_The bickering between Kreacher and Dobby will continue for everyone's amusement._

_As I said before, Harry, Hermione and Luna will become animagi. Anyone have suggestions on what Luna should be? I have an idea, but want to see what others think. Harry and Hermione's are already planned out, though._

_Thanks again for the positive feedback!_

* * *

Emerging from an old Elm tree, Luna took a moment in silent contemplation. The night breeze filled her with the calming scent of the forest. Her eyes closed, she stretched her arms out to give thanks. It was bitter sweet, though. Her mind flashed to seeing the attack on her father, and she flinched. Hugging herself, she felt the tears start and angrily shook herself. It wasn't time for that.

Wiping her face, she opened her eyes to take in the night. The stars were bright, and she could hear the various nocturnal animals going about their business.

Luna didn't care for being alone. The quiet it brought wasn't just physical, it was mental as well. Even though it was meant for the opposite, occlumency helped tremendously in keeping out other's thoughts. The absence wasn't something she enjoyed one bit, because the lack of pressure and the silence of her own mind invariably drew her back to the day her mother died. And she _still_ wasn't ready for that.

A small sob leapt out of her as she realized she was truly alone now, and Luna fought that morsel of truth. She couldn't afford to get caught up in her grief while Harry and Hermione needed her.

Harry. Always giving. Always forgiving. Not once did he tease or look down or pity. He offered to help find her things, and called her friend. The kinship between them was _real_, and it was nice. _He_ was nice. After everything he'd been through with his relatives, it was a wonder that he was nice at all. And he was. To her. The first one that cared.

Hermione. _Oh that poor girl!_ All through her desperate clinging to Harry, her mind was a constant loop of seeing her parents… _adoptive_ parents being slain over and over again.

Luna wished to Merlin, Morgana, Maeve and beyond _anything_ that Hermione hadn't had to face the Rat and the newly risen Dark Lord. The Rat's simpering sweet voice tried to compel Hermione away to meet her real parents. That the muggles did their job and she was done.

* * *

_'Little Bella,' the Rat had crooned to her. 'It's time to come home, child.'_

_'AVADA~__!__' Hermione shrieked just before Harry snatched her away._

* * *

Meissa Belladonna Lestrange.

_Goddess!_

Shuddering, Luna desperately shoved the rather _bloody_ images inside a radish; plugged _that_ into a mushroom; and then planted it in her mental garden, underneath some devil's snare.

Another wipe down of her face and a slight pulling at her hair, Luna locked her emotions away. Shaking herself, she turned and took a few steps to the small hill that hid the Lovegood Sanctuary. She put her wand behind her ear and she enlightened the locking runes with a wave of her hand, then touched the proper sequence to open the tunnel.

Once the rumbling ceased from the rocks opening in a similar way to the entrance to Diagon Alley, she turned away from the entrance. "Dobby?" she called out.

The pop was loud in comparison to the quiet, and the little House Elf immediately looked about to take in this new location. His rapid head movements halted when he spied Luna. "Miss Moon? Is this where Harry Potter and his My-Knee needs to be?"

"We are quite close," Luna nodded. "Please bring them here?" she asked with a tilt of her head. "We have to be quick."

His rapid nodding and ear flapping was endearing, and didn't let up until he popped away.

* * *

"That was the _damnedest_ thing I've ever seen," Sirius reiterated as he came back into the sitting room. "_Tree_walking. She just _melted_ into the damned thing like she fell into a bathtub!"

Remus grinned at his friend's wide eyed expression. "I haven't had the pleasure, but I've read it to be one of the more older forms of travel. It just isn't all that _poplar_ any more."

Sirius gave him a shrewd look. "That was an appalling pun, and you should be arrested for language abuse." He smirked at the slight chuckle from his friend, and turned his attention to the teens. "How are they?"

"Still sleeping." He pointed at Harry. "Put a bandage on his scar. Hopefully, Miss Lovegood has some more Druidic magic up her sleeve. I'm not that well versed in the healing magicks, and Harry needs a touch more than what I can provide. The scar is starting to puss as well, which _cannot_ be good."

Sirius winced and turned about. "Kreacher! Have you packed everything?"

A couple of bags appeared on the couch next to Harry as Kreacher peeked over the armrest with a glare. "Yes, _Master_," he grumbled.

They were distracted by Dobby popping back. "Is youse ready? Miss Moon says to be hurryings!"

Remus looked to his friend. "Got your mirror?"

Sirius patted his coat pocket with a smirking grin. "Don't go anywhere without it. Hold the fort. Can your furry problem smack any unwanted probes out of your head?"

"Nothing gets past the wolf," Remus said, giving his Marauder grin. "If Dumbles tries, he'll have a migraine for days."

"Good," Sirius grinned. He reached out and they clasped forearms. "If you have to say _anything_, tell them we're at one of the Black houses under a fidelus, or something."

"Keep the cubs safe," Remus said with a nod.

Dobby had levitated Harry and arranged him in a relaxed sleeping position. However, when he turned to Hermione, Kreacher rushed around the sofa and slapped his hands. "_My_ work!" he snapped. "Tends to your _own_, disgraced."

The men were surprised to see an actual squinted glare come from Dobby as Kreacher levitated Hermione. "Will Kreacher be allowings Dobby to move us?" he asked, just as snappish.

"Yes," Kreacher slowly growled out.

Sirius stepped between the teens and retrieved their wands from the sofa, then shouldered the two bags. "All right Dobby. Ready when you are."

* * *

Luna looked up when they appeared, and sighed in relief. "Just in time," she said to get their attention. After they turned to her, she pulled her wand from her ear. Looking around the ground, she pointed her wand and said '_Stupefy_'. There was a squeak, and then she levitated a field mouse. Moving it up the tree she exited from, she set it in a runed trap next to the lowest branch.

"Hedwig?" Sirius asked.

She nodded with a small smile. "Harry sent her to find you before coming after us. She will have quite a journey." Another wand flick, and a small runestone briefly lit up at the base of the tree. "That will let us know when she arrives."

"Where _are_ we, anyway?" Sirius asked, looking about. "I don't recognise this place."

"This is the heart of the Lovegood estate in Wales. It is not much, only one hundred and seventy three acreage, but it has been home to the Lovegoods for generations. Do not worry. It is unplottable and heavily warded. Only a Fidelus would be stronger, but hardly anyone knows about this place as it is. Come. Let us take them inside."

Sirius waited as Luna led the two House Elves and their charges into the tunnel, then took up the rear. The tunnel lit up, and he saw Luna's wand pointed at the ceiling. Glancing up, he could see lighting runes softly glowing. "Impressive," his voice echoed. "Why didn't you just have us apparate inside?"

"Thank you," Luna said with a smile. "There are apparition wards surrounding the mound. Once inside, we will be as safe as Hogwarts." Her head tilted, thinking about that. "Well, _Gringotts_ maybe. Elves should be able to apparate as normal, but I wanted to show you how to get inside, so you will know how to get out."

They came to a three way junction, and Luna waited until they were all out of the main entrance tunnel. Pointing her wand to the keystone at the ceiling, the tunnel collapsed in on itself in the same manner as it had opened. The only thing remaining was the keystone itself.

Sirius' eyebrows were up, and he nodded at the ingenuity. "_Very_ impressive. Tell me, did the Lovegoods do something similar for the Leaky Cauldron?"

Luna's smile was shy. "That would be _telling_," she teased. "Now remember, always take the left." With that, she turned and walked down the tunnel. Several Y junctions later, she stopped at the first four way split. "For now, we need to take the centre, but that is only for what we need to do right this moment."

The tunnel eventually widened as it came to an end. Next to the far wall, an elaborate archway parallel to the tunnel seemed to be carved out of the stone. The Stonework was covered with impressions of vines, leaves, and other plant life. Luna touched the base support stone, and the sides lit up in pale blue light.

"What is this?" Sirius asked.

Luna smiled wide. "This, along with the mound, was a gift from the Fae some forty generations ago. It has been said that Novus Lovegood saved the daughter of a Fae Queen. In her gratitude, she bequeathed this entire area along with her daughter's hand in marriage."

"You have Fae blood?" Sirius asked with a grin. "That would explain a _lot_ about your family."

She nodded. "It is not as strong as it once was, but there are some gifts of the fae that still manifest." Luna faced the three. "Now, before we go any further, we all need to go through the arch."

Sirius looked confused. "Why is that?"

"It was designed to remove any foreign spells and magick from persons and belongings," Luna explained. "If there are any kind of tracking charms on us, this will eliminate them." She saw Sirius' sceptical look. "I'll go first. Could you go to the other side and catch me if I fall?"

Curiosity overcame Sirius scepticism, and he went to the right side. Fae runes lined the arch, and he wished he could read them. There was a slight shimmer across the opening which made him uncomfortable.

Luna watched him and giggled. "It is not the same as the one at the Ministry, do not worry." Stepping forward in a slow pace, she went through the arch and immediately became dizzy with a flinch. "Oh!"

Sirius watched as several bits of coloured light flicked out of Luna's body and wand, and caught her when she stumbled. "Easy, lass. I've got you."

Blinking rapidly, Luna muttered "Centre. Find the centre," and shook her head. "That was unpleasant. Thank you for catching me."

Sirius steadied her. "Not a problem, my dear."

Turning, she looked at the points of light caught in the arch. "Now _that_ was not very nice," she grumbled.

Sirius looked at the four different coloured lights in the arch. "What are they?"

Luna pointed at each of them in turn. "Tracking, tracer, compulsion, _confundus_!" Going back to the first, she pointed her wand. "Finite Incantatum!" She did the same to the other two, but the last remained. Tilting her head, she said something that Sirius didn't understand and moved her wand through a flurry of moves, then stabbed it with the tip of her wand. The confundus then winked out of existence with a small pop.

Frowning, she turned to Sirius. "Your turn. Go around and come through. Dobby, Kreacher? Could one of you catch him if he falls? He looks to be a bit heavy for me, and I do not want to drop him."

"Kreacher will catch _master_," Kreacher grumbled, eyeing Dobby. "Kreacher's job."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Thank you Kreacher." Stepping around the arch, he went through it and stumbled. Kreacher cast a cushioning charm on the ground and half levitated him as he fell with a scream.

Luna's eyes widened as she saw the amount of spells being removed from him. However, the angry purple one in the centre was what alarmed her. Kneeling down, she got in Sirius' face. "Talk to me. What do you remember?"

Tears were streaming down his cheeks. "He _knew_," he rasped, fighting his sobs. "The bastard _knew_!"

Luna saw what he was thinking and gasped. "Dumbledore?"

"Yes!" he barked. "I _told_ him about Peter. _Told_ him we swapped." Panting, he rested his hands on her shoulders. "He _obliviated_ me! Then sent me to Azkaban _anyway_!"

Luna closed her eyes and bit her lip. "You need to hold it in for now. Please. We need to get the charms off of Hermione and Harry. _Focus_ please."

Sirius shook his head and took a breath. "Right. Yes, of course. Please allow me to scream about it later, thank you." Standing, he wiped his eyes and pulled himself together with a shake of the head.

Luna 'finite'd' most of them, then did the unknown spell on three others, including the obliviate. "Most of them were tracking charms of some sort, but there was a couple of confundus, three different compulsions, and a loyalty charm." Sighing, she looked to the elves. "Kreacher, please move Hermione…"

"_Meissa_!" Kreacher snapped.

She nodded apologetically. "Could you please move Meissa through the arch? She will need to be in an upright position, and it would most likely be a good idea to move her through back to front."

Kreacher waved his hands. Hermione floated to the left of the arch, then turned her so that she was upright. The elf then moved to the other side of the arch and gripped the air, pulling her through. The lights were the same for her as Luna, only there was one extra. It was a swirling miasma of pink and lavender.

Hermione grunted and flinched awake. "HARRY!" she shouted as she flailed.

Kreacher pulled her prone again, and placed his fingertips on her temple. "No, no, mistress Meissa. Sleep. There, there," he soothed in his gravelly voice.

"Who did _that_?" Luna gaped at the swirling mass.

"What _is_ it?" Sirius asked. "Looks the same as yours, except for that pink one."

"They are, but that one is the effects of a _love_ _potion_." Luna hissed. Scowling, she 'Finite'd' three of them, then did that unknown spell on the confundus and love potion. "Remind me to curse whomever tried to make her love them," she grumbled to Sirius. "Wasn't that large, so she couldn't have been dosed too many times. Pretty recent too, I would imagine."

"Harry Potter's turn now, yes?" Dobby asked, wide eyed as usual.

"_Please_, Dobby," Sirius said while Luna nodded.

Dobby gave a sharp nod, then manoeuvred Harry upright and around to the side. Walking to the opposite, Dobby grabbed the air and pulled Harry through. He was halfway through the arch when Harry screamed, and Dobby froze.

"Pull him through!" Luna yelled. "Don't Stop!"

Harry was slapping himself in the head in obvious agony, and Dobby was blubbering. "I can'ts! Dobby is _hurting_ the Great Harry Potter!"

Grunting in frustration, Sirius stepped forward and yanked Harry backwards through the arch. There was a bit of a splurtch, and the boy went limp when he came free. "Harry?" Sirius laid him on the floor and placed his ear against Harry's chest.

Inhaling sharply, Sirius whipped out his wand and pointed it at the centre of Harry's chest. "Ennervate!" There wasn't the tell tale jerk, and he pointed his wand again. "Ennervate! _ENNERVATE_!" he screamed in a panic.

* * *

_**A/N2:** I know, I know. You hate cliffies. Don't send the wrakspurts after me. I'm writing the next chapter now. Should be up relatively soon._


	3. Aftermath

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Three  
- Aftermath -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except what I write._

_Ooh, I got whapped a few times for that cliffie. Sorry folks, but did you really think I'd kill off the main character? Silly people. =P_

_Oh, I would appreciate not getting slaps for what's about to happen. You'll know when you read it. Personally, I can't stand the jealous prat.  
_

_I'm going to try to make the chapters longer as I go. Most of this is quick scene changes. I suppose I could lump the first three chapters together. -ponders-_

_I have one recommendation for Luna's animagus form so far. A blackbird. Is that the same as a raven? Hmm... I was thinking more along the line of something snowy white, like her blond hair. Owl is out, due to Hedwig would get offended. But I was thinking something more fuzzy. Hmmm... Might just... Wait, I'll spoil it. Nevermind  
_

* * *

_Chapter Three  
- Aftermath -_

Remus had just got the tea finished and the firewhisky out, when the floo flared green. "Remus?" he heard Tonks call out.

Stepping over quickly, he knelt and stuck his head in the flame. "Dora?"

"Just letting you know we're coming through, sweetie," she replied. He pulled back and stood up, then caught Tonks as she stumbled out of the floo. "Thanks."

"Think you do that just so I can catch you," he teased. She ended up smirking at him before giving him a quick peck on the lips. She hated her first name, but the shortened version from him wasn't so bad. No one else though. They'd get verbal abuse and a possible hexing.

George came through next, followed by Arthur and a sobbing Molly – whom Arthur caught as she stumbled out. Moody and Kingsley then came through. "I need a drink," Kingsley stated flatly.

Remus pointed to the small keg of firewhisky, while Tonks helped George to the table. Arthur led Molly to one of the bedrooms upstairs. Moody's eye was spinning about the place as if more Death Eaters were coming. He tripped the floo shut and plopped himself at the table, then nodded at Kingsley when he set a glass of firewhisky in front of him.

"Can someone please tell me what happened?" Remus started. The looks on everyone's face had him preparing for the worst.

George had his head in his hands. "I wanna go to St. Mungos," he mumbled.

Tonks rubbed his back. "They need to do their work. It's nothing but the waiting room for now."

"I don't _care_!" George shouted. "I want my Fred! I need to _see_ him! Ginny… Ron…" His breath hitched, and Tonks pulled him into a sideways hug. "Oh, Ronnikins," he mumbled into her shoulder.

"How bad was it?" Remus prodded.

Mad Eye looked at him with both eyes, "Ginevra will be all right." He patted his pegged leg for emphasis to spare George hearing it.

Remus' eyes squeezed shut at the thought of a young girl having to be fitted with a prosthetic. "Will they be able to…"

"They took it with them to St. Mungos," Kingsley said quietly. Standing, he took Remus to the sitting room. "We lost Ron tonight," he whispered. "Went out a hero and took a cutting curse meant for his sister. Deflected a large part of it, from the state of the stairs, but the rest went through him and got her left thigh. They think they can reattach it. He got off several curses of his own before he bled out, and killed Nott. Blew his head off with a _reducto_."

Remus put his hands in his hair. "Merlin." He grabbed Kingsley's glass and downed the remainder. "What else?"

"Fred took a bludgeoning curse meant for Molly," Kingsley said. "Some bone vanishing and Skele-Grow and he'll be fine. We had to dose Molly with a calming draught before we woke her, just to get her here. She took out four by herself. George killed Goyle Sr. with a digging charm and blew his chest out. The only thing left of The Burrow is half the ground floor."

Arthur entered the room at that point, and Remus went over to hug the man. The Weasly patriarch was stiff at first, then slumped and gripped Remus tightly as he started sobbing.

* * *

Luna had her hands twisted in her hair at the sight of Harry's prone form. _This was NOT supposed to happen!_

"_ENNERVATE_!" Sirius screamed a fourth time, and Harry jerked – coughing – before he started moaning loudly and grabbed his head.

"Mione," Harry groaned.

Now that he was breathing, Sirius noticed that the bandage on his head had burst. Sickly green puss and blood was spattered on his forehead and half his face from the scar.

Dobby was frantic and placed his hands on top of Harry's head. "Sleep now! Sleepy! Sleepy sleepy!"

Once Harry's moaning ceased, and he was breathing normally, Dobby blubbered loudly and ran head first into the wall. He got up and was about to do it again, when Luna snatched him up in a hug. "Dobby, No! This was _not_ your fault!"

"Dobby hurt the Great Harry Potter!" the distraught elf wailed.

Sirius looked up to the arch and blanched. "What in the name of _Merlin_ is that?!"

Luna glanced up. "I have no idea. I have never seen black before. And SOMEONE has been dosing Harry with Love Potion as well! Look at the _size_ of that!"

There were several spell effects in the arch. Sirius finally noted that some of the runes were glowing similar colours to the spells that were caught, and speculated on their relation to each other.

Luna saw quite a few monitoring and tracking charms, the trace from Harry's wand, a loyalty charm, two confundus and four compulsion charms, a rather healthy dose of Love Potion that pissed her off even more than the one from Hermione; two red runes, and a large black mass at head height.

Still rocking a sobbing Dobby, Luna was absolutely stunned when the black mass started to reach out and drain the other effects into itself. "That is _not_ supposed to happen," she whispered.

"It's eating the others," Sirius observed. "But it looks like it's leaving the runes alone. Small wonder. One's for draining power, while the other's a limiter. Probably not all that tasty."

The black mass pulsed, and they all felt it _looking_ at them. "We should pull Harry and Hermione away from that," Sirius said, already lifting his godson. "Kreacher, move… _Meissa_ away from that thing. It's dangerous."

Kreacher was already doing so. "Feels like Regulus' locket," he commented, glaring back at it. "Nasty, dirty, _evil_ thing."

Sirius filed that bit of information away for later, and watched as the matching rune glows faded when the others were absorbed by the mass. "Luna, I'm going to assume that the runes tell you what's what in there. What are the remaining ones telling you about that… _thing_?"

"It does not make any _sense_," she whispered, completely confused. "Two are for health. The one at the top is for life, while the one on the lower right indicates some form of necromancy. The other is for binding, but without the corresponding rune I cannot tell _what_ it is binding." She paused and looked at the others that glowed red like the runes that were caught. "You were correct about the runes, though. They remind me of wards, but why would they be on Harry?"

"To limit and _drain_ his magic," Sirius growled. Looking down at his godson, he hefted him to his left arm and spun one of the few medical charms he knew over the boy with his wand. He hissed when he read the results. "He has a skull fracture behind that scar, and his core is starting to restore itself. It's slower than normal, but I guess it's more focussed on healing him at the moment."

Sirius looked at the bawling elf. "Dobby! Pull yourself together!" he ordered. "I need you to monitor Harry. If his core spikes, we'll have accidental magic all over the place. Can you help contain it?"

Dobby wiped his eyes and nodded. "Yes, Sirius Black. Dobby can be doings that. Would be easiers if Dobby were bound to Harry Potter, but Dobby will do what Dobby can."

Luna looked Harry and Hermione over, then glared at the mass in the arch. Too many things were happening at once, and she wasn't happy. "Noola? I need you."

There was a soft pop, but Sirius didn't see anything. However, Dobby, Kreacher and Luna instantly looked over to where two footprints just appeared in the dust and dirt. From the size of them, Noola had to be very young.

The elf must've said something, because Luna nodded her head. "Yes, Noola. Can you lead Dobby and Kreacher to the Sanctuary Home?"

There was a pause, and both Dobby and Kreacher gave a half bow. "Lead the way, young one," Kreacher grumbled.

"Dobby; Kreacher, there are guest rooms on the second floor. Make sure they are comfortable."

Sirius cleared his throat. "Lily would probably spin in her grave, then fire curses at me from beyond it, but put them in the same room. I don't think Herm… _Meissa_ would appreciate waking up without Harry right now. There's no reason to panic her or him."

"As you wish, _master_," Kreacher sneered at him, completely unhappy at that prospect.

Dobby glared at the elderly elf. "Harry Potter will want to be close to his My-Knee."

"Kreacher doesn't _care_ what that Half Blood wants!" he snapped rapidly at him.

"My-Knee _does_," Dobby countered angrily.

Sirius was fed up with this. "Kreacher! Do as I say!" The elderly elf cringed, then pivoted foot to foot and eventually nodded. "Good."

"Lead them there Noola," Luna said with a smile to her unseen elf. Second floor, next to the loo, if you please."

There was another pause, and Sirius could tell where the little thing was from both the footprints as well as Dobby and Kreature's following it along with their heads, before leading Harry and Hermione out of the area. Once they were gone, he turned to Luna. "Noola doesn't like being seen?"

"She is extremely shy," Luna said with a shrug. That was a story for another time. "I may need your help with this. Kreacher called that thing evil, and I am going to need to use much more of the arch's power. I do not know if I'm strong enough. So, would you mind learning the banishment spell?"

Sirius nodded. "I agree. Damn thing is actually looking at me funny. What do you need me to do?"

Luna knelt down and pulled Sirius with her. Using her wand as a stencil, she etched out a phrase in the Fae language. Blinking at her own stupidity for a moment, she rhetorically asked, "You cannot read that, can you?"

Sirius shook his head, and she wiped the phrase away with her left hand. Pausing to think, she wrote out the phrase phonetically in English. "How about now?"

Looking it over, he tried to pronounce the foreign words. "Pleroosk Exselleeoo Opreem." He paused. "Almost sounds Latin."

"You were very close," Luna nodded. "Say it with me." She then pronounced it with him several times until he got it. "Very good. Now, this is the wand movement. It is the same as what I used before, only larger."

Using the tip of her wand, she drew a square clockwise from the upper left corner; a circle that touched the inside of the square anticlockwise drawn from the top; then an 'upright' pentagram inside the circle, starting with the top point and clockwise once more. She then stabbed the centre of it.

"The first word of the incantation is said with the square, the second with the circle, and the last with the pentacle. Then you thrust the magic through the centre while aiming at the caught spell." Pausing, she eyed him. "You may want to use your own wand. I do not think Hermione's will work with you very well."

Examining the wand in his hand, Sirius rolled his eyes and exchanged it with his own from inside his jacket. "Sorry. Bit out of my head at the moment. Let me practice for a bit."

Luna only had to correct him once, when he initially drew a rectangle. A few more tries, and she nodded approvingly. "Let me try first. If I get into trouble, you will know. Just remember to say the incantation aloud."

"Be careful," he cautioned with a pat on her shoulder. "Just say when, and I'll be there."

Luna nodded gratefully, then focussed herself with a few deep breaths. Pointing her wand at what was now a black ball, she held herself tall. "Pleroosk Exselleeoo Opreem!"

This time, a silver bolt of what Sirius considered to be lightning leapt out of her wand and struck the dark mass. Almost immediately, the light from the arch intensified as multiple bolts came from the inside edge to strike it as well.

She held it for a moment, then her left hand came up to grab the other one. Grunting, she managed to get out a rather small sounding "Ohhh, help me."

Sirius immediately held his wand up and went through the incantation with a bellow. "Pleroosk Exselleeoo Opreem!" His bolt was quite a bit brighter than hers, and he ended up growling as he forced his magic into the spell.

After a moment, the mass started to dissolve and there was a high pitched shriek of a scream coming from the thing. There was another crackle as it vanished into the aether. The spell ended abruptly, and Sirius quickly found the ground with his bum. "Oomph. _Damn_. That was exhausting."

Looking to his left, he found that Luna had fainted. "Oh, my dear," he lamented as he pulled her head onto his thigh. He ended up running his fingers through her blond locks while he collected his wits.

It was a bit later when she stirred. "Oh ouch. Sleepy now." Turning her head to look up at him as she moved to her back, she grinned. "Well, hello Stubby Boardman," she slurred. "I didn't realize you were at the Yule Ball. I would be _happy_ to dance with you. Just don't tell Harry. He can be a bit territorial with his girls. Especially around someone as cute as you."

Sirius did his best to not bust out laughing, and ended up with a strangled chuckle. "I don't know what it is with you Lovegoods. I'm not Stubby and can't carry a tune to save my own arse." Shaking his head at the exhausted and loopy girl, he tapped her forehead with a finger. "Luna, it's Padfoot, Harry's godfather."

"Ohhhh," she nodded slowly. "Then we _definitely_ shouldn't dance. He trusts you even less."

He couldn't help himself this time and let out huge guffawing laughter that echoed all through the tunnels. Shaking himself, he sighed. "Dobby?"

There was a bit of a wait before the elf appeared. "Yes, Lord Black. How may Dobby be of service?" he asked a bit stiffly.

"We got rid of that evil thing, and can't hardly walk," Sirius explained. "Would you mind apparating us to Luna's home here?"

"One moments please," Dobby said, then popped away.

There was a softer pop, but Sirius couldn't see anyone. He felt a small hand take his finger, and they were suddenly in the main sitting room of the Lovegood Retreat.

* * *

Dumbledore flooed into 12 Grimauld Place in a bit of a dash. Luckily for him, as the secret keeper, the floo cage opened before he stepped out. He was in a right foul mood for having been awoken so early in the morning, but then when does a Death Eater attack make you warm and fuzzy inside?

He was initially woken by the head House Elf, who told him that three alarms were going off in his office. He'd dressed quickly and found that the blood wards on #4 Privet Drive were in the process of a catastrophic failure. On top of that, several other devices simply stopped working. That they all were monitoring Harry Potter alarmed him to his brittle old bones.

His first stop was the Dursleys to check the wards. He didn't bother with formalities and had disillusioned himself before apparating into the house. He found Vernon being taken care of by a muggle healer that seemed to make house calls, before heading up to Harry's room.

What he found was disturbing. Which was to say, nothing except a rather large dent in the plaster wall from where Vernon impacted with it. Then the bars on the main window were missing. So was the boy's owl. Of course he knew that Harry was basically a prisoner in his own home, but he was needed to ensure the blood wards stayed active.

There was a thought of the Weasley twins breaking him out again, _and Merlin only knew how they did it the first time_. Peaking out the window, he saw the ruined lump of metal on the ground. Worried, he apparated to Mrs. Figg's house and used her floo without bothering to wake her.

"Tell me everything," he demanded as he stepped into the kitchen. Mad Eye and Kingsley were both at the firewhisky, and that was never a good thing.

Moody glared at him. "You Know Who made a run at several homes tonight."

"The Lovegoods, the Weasleys, and the Grangers," Kingsley said morosely.

"Was anyone hurt?" Dumbledore asked, somewhat alarmed. He hadn't expected Tom to move so quick. He had anticipated a summer of quiet.

"Of _course_ people were hurt, Albus!" Moody snapped angrily. "Xeno is dead and his daughter is missing. Both _Grangers_ are dead and _their_ daughter is missing. The Burrow was annihilated tonight. Ronald is dead, Ginevra is critically wounded, Frederick is busy regrowing most of his shoulder bones, and the most of the rest of the Weasleys who lived there are _here_!"

Albus gaped at them both and sat down heavily. This was a unmitigated _disaster_. Without Ronald to distract the muggleborn witch, Harry was in her sights. With Ginevra out of the picture, Harry was free to pursue his childhood friend! No one would take Potter seriously if he ever took his seat at the Wizengamot now!

At least the evidence of his interference went up with the Burrow. There would be no need to bring up the two cases of Amortentia now. Molly would have to fend for herself for the time being. Her ambitions were as strong as her potion skills. She should be back up to speed soon enough for more biscuits and treacle tart for the Boy Who Lived.

Albus conjured a small goblet and asked for a helping of the firewhisky. After taking a gulp, he had to focus on the positive. "How many Death Eaters were taken in?"

Kingsley gave him a look that was a mixture of disgust and disbelief. "Six were killed at the Weasleys."

Moody nodded. "They like death so much, I say we give it to them!"

Frowning at the response, Albus keyed up his genteel voice and began soothing their rattled nerves. Of course, this was while casting more loyalty charms at the pair of them from under the table.

* * *

At St. Mungos, George and Arthur were visiting Fred while Tonks stood in the background. "Hey Gred," he greeted his groggy twin, "Hurt much?"

"S'fine," Fred said, waving him off with his left hand. George took it and squeezed.

"You'll be out of here right quick. Remember, pranking season is open."

Fred sighed in a bit of a sulk. "Pranking season is always open, but I'm kinda worried about that. Think anything I do would be pretty armless."

George groaned. "Pathetic. You went for the obvious there, mate."

"What can I say? They got me on some good pain killing potions. Can't rightly think all that straight."

George gave him a pained smile. He had no idea how to tell him that their Ronnikins was gone. "Hit the sandman, you. Your puns are awful. I'll see you when the sun slaps us."


	4. Truth

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Four  
- Truth -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except what I write._

_I am completely amazed. As of this writing, there are over a hundred follows, and over fifty favs and reviews. This, with this story being the first Potter I've ever done. Hardly anything negative has come my way, (aside from the inevitable shock of cliffies) and a lot of respectful constructive criticism and quality suggestions have been given for this story._

_That said, it was pointed out that Luna wasn't introduced until OoTP. Since that would make this entire story a moot point, we are going to pretend that most of the conversations and interactions with Luna happened a year early. Mea Culpa.  
_

_Also, will go back and correct name spellings soon. Thanks for the head's up.  
_

_Thank you all ever so much. I have many warm fuzzies about you all right now. =)_

* * *

Chapter Four**  
- Truth -**

Remus was in the waiting room of St. Mungos. George and Arthur were visiting Fred, and there was still no 'official' word on Ginny.

He hated hospitals. Magical or muggle, it didn't matter. He _despised_ them. The various odours were unique – depending on which version you were in – and both sets completely offended his heightened sense of smell.

Conversely, he was able to focus and listen in on different things throughout the floor. It didn't matter at all that he was in the waiting room. Like listening to your best mate in a crowded and noisy pub, he could discern different conversations once he put his mind to it.

That said, he was a nervous wreck from listening in on the healers as they worked on Ginny. Several blood replenishing potions had already been used, and the only thing that they were hopeful about was the fact that it was such a clean sever. Magic was like that sometimes. However, getting various blood vessels, muscles, tendons and nerves to line up properly was what was taking them so damned long.

Still, they sounded hopeful even after three hours. That was a small miracle.

He was a dead wolf on his paws, when he noticed the morning sun peeking through the windows. As he jerked himself more awake, he immediately smelled Dora and felt her cuddling his left side.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Didn't mean to wake you. Fred's in and out, and loopy as a house elf on a thimble of firewhisky." She grinned at his slight chuff of laughter. "Have you heard anything about Ginny?"

Remus tilted his head to find the voices of the healers. After a bit, he nodded. "Sounds like they're almost done reattaching her leg."

He felt a slight jolt coming from his pocket, and he fished his mirror out. Written on it like a finger on steamy glass, was the word 'Safe?'

"We really need to talk about marketing these to the DMLE," Tonks said. At his look, she raised her hand in surrender. "All right. But I'm telling you, you've got a small fortune in the palm of your hand there."

Ignoring the old argument, Remus looked about the place, then cast a muffalato and a notice me not. Tonks did the same to reinforce them. Glancing at the mirror, he ran his finger across the top and whispered, "Padfoot."

"Bloody hell, Moony, you look like dragonshite," Sirius said after his image appeared on the glass. "Have you even _slept_?"

"Look who's talking, Padfoot," Remus grumbled. "What's the word?"

"I have three," Sirius said as he held up his hand in front of his face. He ticked his fingers out on each word. "Dumbledore. Lying. Bastard. Do _not_ trust that man."

"What are you on about?" Remus complained. "And use small words. I've had about an hour of sleep tonight… _last_ night."

"First: Have either of you told anyone about the Pronglet, and Salt and Pepper?" Sirius asked.

Tonks slapped her forehead. "I _knew_ I was forgetting something."

"DON'T!" Sirius shouted. "Don't mention a word, number, hint, anything. No one can know what's going on. _You_ don't even know, understand?"

Tonks sighed. "Snuffles, have you been hitting the drink again?"

"Pepper-Up," he defended himself. "Nymphodora Tonks, I have never been more serious in my entire life. And for once, that's not a pun. If you have any holiday time, take it," he sighed. "I need the both of you to come here as soon as wizardly possible, if not sooner. No one else."

"Padfoot," Remus started to whine.

Sirius glared. Well, as much as one could through a small piece of glass at any rate. "Moony, I swear on James and Lily's graves and my own _magic_ that you two _need_ to come here."

Both of them blinked at that, and Tonks hair turned blue. "What's wrong?" They asked at the same time.

Sirius shook his head. "I don't want to say over this thing, just in case Peter still has his. Which reminds me, we still need to lock that bastard out of our mirrors."

Remus sighed. "All right. Let me talk to Arthur on what I've overheard from the healers about Ginny, and we'll make our excuses." He looked to Tonks. "Would your mother be willing to lie about us staying at her place for the day?"

"Sure," she nodded.

Sirius interrupted. "Wait. Ginny Weasley? Hang about, where are you?"

"St. Mungos," they chorused.

Sirius sighed. "Right. Tell me when you get here. I'm waiting in a safe spot for you two to portkey, and the others are safely tucked in. Talk to you soon."

Remus sighed when the mirror changed to show his own reflection. "Certainly has a bee up his arse this morning. Though, I guess it's understandable." Grumbling, he stood up and stretched his back out with several frightening pops going up his spine. "C'mon, Dora. Let's get this done so we can see what's got him so upset."

* * *

Sirius rolled his shoulders and grumbled to himself as he pocketed his mirror. He hated mornings just as much as the next Marauder, and today was no exception even _if_ he had a Pepper-Up. Hated those things as well, as the taste was always off no matter what batch it was.

Standing next to the Elm tree outside the entrance to the mound, Sirius closed his eyes and let the morning sun warm his skin. Gods, but didn't that feel wonderful? After over a decade in the worst prison known to wizarding kind, he may learn to enjoy the sunlight.

He wasn't sure, but there was every possibility that hell just froze over with that thought.

A fluttering got his attention, and he looked up to see Hedwig land on the branch. She hooted and barked when she found the nice rodent snack Luna left for her, and had a bit of breaky. "Hello, old girl," he said to the lovely bird. "After your done nibbling, we have a bit of a wait. But I promise that I'll take you to Harry once the others get here. Is that all right?"

Hedwig tilted her head back to swallow the field mouse, then fluttered to Sirius' shoulder with a soft hoot. He chuckled when she playfully nipped at his cheek.

* * *

Luna had checked on Harry's wound when she was able to climb the stairs. Dobby and Noola had cleaned and dressed it properly with antifungals, and had even added a bit of Skele-Gro to the bandage to ease the crack in his skull. It was too bad an episky wouldn't work for a head wound, but it was simply too dangerous. Luckily, the nature of it meant that Harry didn't have a concussion.

She grinned when Hermione rolled over and tucked herself under Harry's chin. It seemed so natural for her to do that. Her grin turned into a full smile when Harry adjusted to put his arm around her back. Recognizing the warm feeling in her chest, Luna realized that she completely adored both of them.

Questioning Noola and Kreacher about the nature of Hermione's wounds, she discovered that they were all only skin deep. Easily treated, there was nothing else to do but wait for them to heal.

Interrupted by a rather large yawn, Luna bit her lip as she considered her next action. She didn't want to be alone, and she knew that neither of them would mind. Even though she knew it was cheating, she had some rather important inside information: They both fancied her as well as each other. What's more, she fancied _them_ as well.

Decision made, she asked the elves to wake her if either Harry or Hermione needed something, then budged under the covers and mirrored Hermione on Harry's left side. A satisfied smile crossed her face when she felt Harry's other arm snake around her back.

One last message to Noola, and she told them that two more guests would be arriving later. Everything done now, Luna sighed as her muscles relaxed, and was quickly in the land of Nod.

* * *

Sirius was stroking Hedwig's feathers when his mirror gave a slight jolt. Pulling it out of his pocket, he ran his finger over the top edge and saw Remus. "PK Location Padfoot. Confirm," he said.

Grinning, Sirius traced a symbol on the glass. "Confirmed, Moony."

There was a bit of noise, and Remus appeared with Tonks in his arms. She of course stumbled and held onto him tighter.

Smirking now, Sirius had to have a go at her. "You wouldn't happen to have a direct relation to the Pronglet, would you Pinkie? The both of you are terrible at any form of magical instant transportation, and fall all over yourselves wherever you end up."

"Oh, bite me Snuffles," Tonks groused and stuck her tongue out at him. "Now what the devil has your knickers in a twist?"

Sirius beckoned them with a single wagging finger and a smirk. "This way you two," he said as he entered the tunnel.

"Where are we going?" Tonks asked. "What is this place?"

"_Patience_, Pinkie," Sirius complained. "Just pay attention to what I'm doing."

They exited the entrance tunnel, and Sirius flicked his wand at the keystone. The couple were startled when the tunnel methodically closed in on itself. "All right. Freaking out now," Tonks complained as her hair turned a very deep purple.

"Relax," Sirius chided her. "I promise I'll explain everything."

"Just consider yourself lucky the full moon is two weeks away," Remus grumbled.

Leading them through the tunnels, he came up short at the arch. Following Luna's instructions, he activated it via the bottom support stone. "This, my wayward friends, will remove any charm or curse that has been placed on you. This includes trackers, tracers, various mental curses, and runes."

"Bloody hell!" Tonks blurted. "The Ministry…"

"Will _never_ hear about this," Sirius interrupted. "This is a Lovegood _family_ heirloom, and we have been permitted to utilize it in order to keep ourselves safe. This is a _privilege_ that we've been granted. As Lord Black, I strongly recommend that you keep this to yourself in order to foster family harmony."

Tonks snorted at the formal words, and tilted her head. She stared at him while her hair turned pink again. "We were booted, remember?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine! As the one person that can get you back in the family, I ask that you keep this to yourself. Happy?"

"Del_irious_ly," she smirked. "So, what do we do?"

"Step through it, left to right. Any spells or spell like effects will be caught in the arch, and I'll be able to dismiss or banish them. As I've been through it already, would you mind standing on the right so Hedwig can go through?"

Remus arched his brow and did as asked. If this was a prank, it was a pretty elaborate one. Still, he did swear on their friend's graves and his own magic, so this had to be on the up and up. Right?

Sirius looked at the sleepy bird. "Hedwig? Would you mind flying through there to Moony? I have a feeling you'll be able to better deliver things if you do."

Hedwig nodded and bounced before leaping from Sirius' shoulder. As she crossed through the arch, her flight became erratic as three spells removed themselves from her birdy person.

Remus ended up catching her. "Easy, there. You're all right."

Fluffing her feathers, Hedwig barked and squawked repeatedly in obvious annoyance. After a bit of that, she went quietly back to Sirius' shoulder when he came around the arch. She still looked ruffled and clacked her beak, though.

Since he didn't recognize the charms from earlier experience, Sirius' jotted the corresponding runes down for Luna to identify later. Once that was done, it only took three flicks of a low powered finite to get rid of them.

"Tonks, your turn. Remus, I don't think I need to tell you what to do," Sirius smirked.

Walking around to the left side, Tonks was cautious. "Didn't look like Hedwig liked that too much. You're sure this is safe?" Sirius' head tilt of annoyance got her hands up in surrender. "All right, all right. Here I go."

The place lit up as a number of spells were pulled out of her. She stumbled into Remus and promptly fainted with her eyes rolled back. Remus helped her down gently, but looked up when Sirius' swore rather vividly. "What is it?" he asked him.

Sirius was busy scribbling on his parchment. "Other than the tracking charms, I don't know most of them. But, those large purple ones indicate her suffering from obliviation multiple times."

Wide eyed, Remus counted them. "Seventeen?! Merlin's hairy _pits_, what the hell is going on?"

Sirius didn't respond until he was finished copying down the Fae runes. "You may want to wait to hear until you go through that yourself."

About to protest, Remus was distracted when Tonks' grip on his shirt tightened. Looking down at her, he was disturbed to see tears running down her face, and her normal perky pink faded to her natural dingy brown. "Dora, darling, what's the matter?"

Shaking her head, Tonks pulled her wand and vanished the tears and full sinus cavities of her nose. "If I ever get the chance, I am going to personally _eviscerate_ Dumbledore," she said in a shaky whisper.

Sirius knelt down. "Pinkie, what do you remember?"

Blinking, she bit her lip and stared at her cousin. "Did you know that during most of my training as an Auror, Albus had me patrol Privet Drive?" When they both shook their heads, she continued. "There was more than one occasion where I tried to take Harry to St. Mungos."

"What for?" Sirius half asked, half shouted.

Tonks wiped her eyes again and looked to Remus. "I did tell you that the Dursleys weren't all that nice," she whispered.

"You said _tried_. Are you saying that Albus stopped you?" Remus asked, appalled, while Sirius looked like he was about to have a fit.

She nodded. "He brought Poppy in to treat him while he was unconscious. I think he must've obliviated her too, because each time she was surprised that Harry's uncle nearly beat him to death."

Sirius acted like a fish out of water, turning several shades of red. After sputtering for a few seconds, he ended up shouting, "BASTARDS!"

Seeing the look of outright murder on his friend's face, Remus calmly placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder. "We'll deal with them when we can… in _true_ Marauder style." The angry wolfish grin he sported slowly crept over to Sirius, and even Tonks was worried at the sight.

Waving her hand in between their identical expressions, Tonks broke the moment. "Right. Let's worry about that later, okay? The two of you are actually scaring me."

Sirius huffed and went to take care of the spells that were caught, while Remus just waggled his eyebrows at her. The kiss that followed ended her fright, and made her want to rapidly locate somewhere private. When it ended sooner than she wanted, she pouted and smacked his arm. "Tease."

Smirking, Remus nodded at her. "Yes, but I always follow through when I can."

"When you two kids are done…" Sirius interrupted, grinning at the pair of them. He really needed to get a steady, but that whole fugitive angle attracted all the wrong sorts. Still though…

Pulling Tonks to her feet, Remus kissed her forehead and went around the arch. Looking it over, he suddenly recognised the runes. "Fae?" Getting a nod from Sirius, he shrugged and walked through. He was immediately frozen in the middle, as all of his muscles contracted and spasmed more harshly than he ever remembered from a cruciatis.

His howling screams provoked Sirius and Tonks forward, with a 'Merlin!' and a 'Remy!' screeching out of both of them.

* * *

_**A/N:** Sorry this took so long. I've been debating for over a day on what would happen when a werewolf was exposed to the arch. It'll get messy before it gets better._


	5. Mentasis

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Five  
- Mentasis -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except what I write._

_Organizing this chapter was a bit of a nightmare, which is why it took so long. A lot of things are happening at the same time. These five chapters, and the next, happen all within six hours of each other. If you want a bit of a reference, think of this story starting at three in the morning._

_Chapter title is a word I made up, and will be referenced later as the three of them try to explain what happened to the others. _

_I got a message asking if Tonks will be getting with Remus -and- Sirius. Uhm, no. Dora and Sirius are both Blacks, and even "semi-decent" (thank you for the clarification Katzztar) purebloods don't go within the immediate family. Might throw Sirius a bone and send him after Sinestra, but am still thinking about that one. Would make sense though. She teaches astronomy, and he's named after a star. heh_

* * *

Chapter Five**  
- Mentasis -**

Harry was drifting. He knew he was resting, but he didn't feel tired. That was odd. He was always tired, so why not now? He opened his eyes and saw nothing but white. It was like being blind in reverse, but it didn't hurt. Someone had cast one hell of a lumos, but it didn't sting. What was really odd, was the fact that he was standing.

Checking a theory, he held his hands up. All right, he could see them but there were no shadows anywhere. It was like he was lit up on all sides with dazzling light.

Light. He felt light too. That sparked a horrifying thought: '_Oh no, am I dead?'_

"If you are, I am too," a very familiar voice said.

"Me as well," another, more lyrical voice said. _"In_teresting_._ Not what I expected."

Spinning around, he saw Hermione first and instantly swept her into a hug. She on the other hand, guided his lips to hers instead. Of course she thought she was dreaming, so this wasn't that unusual for her. Harry dreams weren't that rare, and she was hoping for another 'happy moment' before she woke up. She really loved these dreams, and took what she could get.

Needless to say, Harry was surprised. He didn't think he was dreaming. But while he knew this wasn't normal, he wasn't going to complain all that much. Yes, he was blushing, but that was only because of the rather wanton moan that she breathed into his mouth. Then her left leg hooked up around his waist, and then _he_ was the one moaning like a tart.

He loved it. He loved… Was _that_ what he felt when he was with her? Having absolutely no frame of reference on the matter whatsoever, he didn't dare hope. That way led to pain. It always led to pain. But if it wasn't love, then why did he not want to let go or stop?

_'There are more important things,'_ Harry heard her words from so long ago in first year. _'Friendship, and Bravery, and L- Oh Harry, be careful!'_

The penny dropped.

Harry started reacting more normally to the situation he was in; namely, by putting more effort into the outright snog that Hermione was giving him. His left hand snaked up and through her hair, and she moaned louder when he gripped the back of it. _'He never did that before,'_ he heard Hermione say, and how was that possible when they were kissing? _'Oh, I love that.'_

"Whoa," Luna murmured when she looked over her shoulder from the noise. "No wrakspurts here. You both know what you want, and are taking it. I _like_ that. Can I have some too?" She grinned cheekily when they broke their enthusiastic snogging and stared at her.

Taking her opportunity at their bit of shock over things, Luna stepped in to wrap her arms around the pair of them. First, she planted a rather healthy snog on a completely surprised Hermione. Harry was on a bit of a mental overload, and he flushed pure scarlet when he saw Hermione's eyes roll back in her head with another moan.

Luna broke it off, then giggled at the dazed expression on Hermione's face. Turning, her giggling turned to chuckling at the sight of his. "No fretting. You get some too." With that, she pulled him closer and proceeded with an identical inspection of Harry's tonsils.

Suddenly, she broke off and leaned her head back, looking rapidly between the two. "This is _real_! I can _really_ sense you, so this has to be real. Oh no, _what have I done_?!" she said in a panic.

"Luna?" Harry and Hermione said at once. She had let go of them and took a step backwards, with a look of mortification on her face. Harry's right arm and Hermione's left let go of each other to take hold of Luna by her shoulders.

"It's okay," Harry said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"It's all right," Hermione said at the same time. "_Kinda liked it_," she whispered.

Luna's eyes flicked back and forth between the only two people she cared about, _other than her family that is_, and was quite a bit confused. "I… you… You are not angry?"

"Well, a _warning_ would've been nice," Hermione said with a bit of a chuckle, "But no, not mad. Bit flushed, to tell the truth. So we're not dreaming?" Her eyes flicked over to Harry and bit her slightly swollen bottom lip in apprehension.

Harry swallowed. "I'm not sure I should say anything, for the fear of being hexed by either of you."

The girls stifled a chuckle, then stared at him. "You _really_ have no reference on love, do you?" Hermione asked him, pondering on what she felt from him earlier.

"Of course he doesn't," Luna said, startling them with her use of a contraction. Well that, and the fact that she was sounding coherent. "Look at how he was raised. There was no love in that house at all. Horned devils in that house."

Harry looked down in complete embarrassment. He distracted himself with three pairs of bare feet, and wondered why he really couldn't feel any sort of floor.

"Hey," Hermione whispered. She bent slightly to look him in the face. "I somehow felt all that confusion you had, before you started returning my affections. I kissed _you_, remember?"

Luna's head touched Hermione's, as she bent to look at him as well. "I kissed _her_ first. If anything, you should be angry with me for getting in between you."

"Not mad," Harry said quietly, looking at Hermione. "Confused. I mean, you got jealous of Lavender when she was all moon eyes over Ron… Which is odd, since she's dating Seamus."

Hermione snorted. "That wasn't jealousy, Harry. Remember, I room with her. Honestly, the thought of those two getting together disgusts me. She snores just as much as he does. Can you imagine the racket if they got together?" She paused, grinning at his smile. "Then there's that whole foul 'Shamy' business. Did you know that she was trying to get you to notice her by constantly kissing Finnegan in front of you?"

"So, she was using him then," Luna stated. "That was not really nice, and Ron might be next if she doesn't get what she wants. Did you at least warn him or prank her?"

"No," Hermione snorted. "Can't stand any of them to care that much." She looked at Harry with intensity. "Almost told you how I felt before the Horntail, then that skeezy Skeeter caught us and blabbed all over the country about it." She paused, thinking about it. "I really hate her," she whispered. "Ruined everything, and I had to go to the Ball with Krum."

"Thought you liked him?" Harry said, more confused. "Said you two were going to owl each other."

Hermione's cheeks burned. "Krum has a _boy_friend in Bulgaria. He wanted updates on how I was going to get you to notice me," she said quietly. "Was giving me pointers on it, actually," she confessed.

"Oh," Harry said a bit stupidly. Krum liked boys? "Wonder what Ron is going to think about that. Was that what Fred and George were doing, teasing him about it?"

The three of them chuckled over the memory of Ron's red faced indignation. What was more funny about it, was how he could never get his mouth to work for a proper comeback. There was a thought. Maybe he was too? Nah, couldn't be.

"Now," Hermione said, looking at Luna. "What is this about you kissing the both of us?" Her grin showed her amusement over it.

Luna's eyes were wide at this point. Well, they were usually big anyway, but her eyelids had effectively disappeared at this point. "Uhm…" she stuttered. "You two are the only ones who cared about me. Harry offered to help me find my things, and you are simply gorgeous," she whispered.

"You like both of us?" Harry and Hermione blurted at the same time. The only difference between them, was that Hermione said 'love' instead of 'like'.

Luna tilted her head a bit bashfully and nodded. "You are both simply brilliant, and the hugs have been _wonderful_." She paused, then said under her breath, "Oh goddess, this is real."

Harry and Hermione pulled her closer, then wrapped their arms around Luna into a three way hug. "I can live with that," Hermione said. "You're sweet and adorable. _Odd_ maybe, but adorable. Not agreeing about me being pretty though."

"Luna's right, you _are_ gorgeous," Harry said with conviction. "I have no idea what's happening, but holding the two of you makes everything better." He then flushed. _'Did I really say all that?'_

The grin on Hermione's face was a bit shy, and she nodded. Luna sounded a bit thoughtful. "Yes, you did say that. In your mind at least. We both heard it."

Harry pulled them both to him tightly. "Oh _please_ tell me I saved you!" he shouted, not understanding why he said that. Then something started to click in his head. '_Waitaminute. I was asleep in my room. What's going on?'_

"You did, Harry," Luna and Hermione said at the same time. They looked at each other with humorous expressions, then froze as the memories hit them. _Hard_.

"Mum… _Dad_…" Hermione's voice broke as her face fell into a state of horror.

"Papa," Luna whispered.

Harry didn't know _what_ was going on, but he had his arms full of two sobbing girls that ended up with their heads buried in his chest. Then he remembered his nightmare. "_They were stalked,_" he realized.

As that horrible thought went through his mind, they pressed even closer to him. It should've been painful with how tightly they were clinging, but what really got his attention was that same nightmare coming at him now from _their_ point of view.

Like before, his focus was split between two different viewpoints. In the hovel, he saw a long haired, blond man telling him to get upstairs as a snake tried to take out his wand hand with a bite. He was frozen in place while the man whipped his wand, throwing hexes and curses to no avail. They simply bounced off the huge serpent.

The other started with the sound of an explosion. He reached under his pillow and drew an unfamiliar wand. He heard a man coming out of another room, then saw the slightly grey haired bloke pause at the door with a pistol. He waved him down, and Harry slid to the side of the bed next to the wall. All he could do was hold his wand over the edge of the bed, aimed at the door.

The serpent clamped its jaws on the blond man's hand, snapping the wand in the process.

A green light and a crack of a pistol came from the hall at the same time, and the man fell to the floor. Only his head was visible, and his eyes were wide and gaping at nothing.

The blond man grabbed the serpent behind the head with his left hand, struggling with it, then yanked. Harry saw what a mistake that was, when bits of flesh came out of his arm.

"Fetch her, Wormtail."

That voice! No! Not him! That thought was interrupted when Peter Pettigrew leaned into view at the door. "Peekaboo!" There was low cackling from behind him. "Just as cute as I remembered. Bella will be so pleased."

A shrill scream came from the hallway, and Harry saw a cricket bat crash down on Pettegrew's head, who actually squeaked. "Damn Muggle Bitch!" A woman became visible as the bat came down again. Turning, Pettigrew flicked his wand, setting the bat on fire.

He couldn't do anything. If he missed, he could hit the woman.

The serpent twisted in the air and landed in a coil, then sprung. The blond tried to catch the head, but had his thumb bit off for the trouble. "Luna! Get Upstairs! Portkey!"

Once the bat was dropped, he heard Snape's voice. "Sectumsempra!", and the woman simply fell apart from multiple cuts, blood flying backwards.

Another high-pitched scream, making his throat raw, then his wand was up. "_BOMBARDA_!" Wait, that was Hermione's voice? Hermione!

The explosion detonated on a shield, and Snape's voice was chiding. "You're slipping Pettegrew. Turned your back on a Black. Tisk, tisk. Even _if_ she's a know-it-all, she'll still kill you without a second thought. _Just like her mother in that regard_."

More raspy chuckling, followed by an "Indeed."

Pettigrew turned to snarl at… Hermione. "Is that any way to treat your benefactor? I'm the one that brought you here! Now come along, we're taking you home! You don't _need_ these muggles anymore!"

Hermione apparently wasn't listening. Her wand flicked. "Duro! Diffindo!"

Distracted from yelling at him… _Luna, he realized_, the man caught a bite on the shoulder, knocking him down. A shaky hand came up in his vision, pointing a wand at the serpent. "Flippendo!"

The jinx bounced off the serpent to hit the ceiling, drawing its attention with a loud hiss. _~Sssstupid girl! You cannot harm me!~_ Harry heard in parseltounge, and he recognized the feminine sound to the 'voice'. It was enough of a distraction for the man to dive on top of the thing with a yell.

"This is _pointless_," Pettigrew said as he kept his shield up. Six different attacks had now bounced off of it. When she paused for breath he hurled a stunner, which shattered a bedside lamp behind her when she ducked.

"Harry, I _need_ you," Hermione whispered under her breath, which caused Harry to hold what he thought was the actual girl tighter.

"You know," Snape drawled from out of sight, "I don't think Bellatrix will appreciate her daughter falling for a half-blood. I tried to get Draco interested in her, but couldn't break my vow to do so."

"I apologize, Severus," that raspy voice, _Voldemort,_ said. "It was necessary. Besides, that fool betrothed his son to that dimwitted Parkinson girl. If Malfoy fails, we can always get our finances from the muggle world. Gringotts doesn't care where money comes from."

"Nooo. _Nooo_," Luna was panicking as the serpent wrapped herself around her father, striking repeatedly at his face and shoulders. She cast jinxes, curses and hexes. "Papa!"

"Muggles are brutal though," Snape continued. "Look what they did to _Potter_."

"Little Bella," Pettigrew crooned disgustingly. "It's time to come home, child."

Something seemed to galvanize in Hermione, and Harry felt her reaction to Snape's mention of the Dursleys. Raising up, the tip of her wand started to glow green. "AVADA!" she was interrupted by a flash of light right next to her, and he felt her mood soar when he saw himself. "_HARRY_!"

Luna was staring at her father on the floor. "Get up," she pleaded in a whisper. Images of a blond woman in the middle of an exploding potions lab flashed in his vision.

_~Now for you,~_ the serpent said, turning towards her.

Luna didn't react to the flash of light to her left, nor Hermione's shrieking. She felt an arm go around her waist, and a flashing warmth filled her.

Stereo images of Grimmauld Place filled his vision, and Harry was suddenly back in the white with Hermione and Luna. "Oh god, no," he breathed. Blinking away his tears, he simply held on to them while they cried.

* * *

"REMY!" Tonks shrieked. She'd spent months trying to get the man to notice that she was female and old enough. Suggestive comments and teasing seemed to bounce off of him, much to her annoyance.

The hugs were nice, but all of his kisses up to that point were on her forehead or cheek. Might have something to do with how tall he was, but she didn't care just now. He actually _snogged the life_ out of her, and she wasn't about to let some damned magical artefact steal him away from her now.

Tonks was a bit faster than Sirius, and had actually shoved him out of the way. Every thought in her head demanded to get Remus out of that device. She wrapped her arms around him with the intention of yanking him, but froze as the energy from the Arch raced through her.

"Pinkie!" Sirius shouted as Tonks began shrieking as much as Remus was. Thinking a bit more clearly now, he raised his wand with a bellow. "ACCIO!"


	6. Changes

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Six  
- Changes -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except what I write._

_Things are moving along. I hate arthritis.  
_

* * *

Chapter Six**  
- Changes -**

It took a bit of time and effort, but Tonks and Remus were eventually yanked out of the arch by Sirius' spell, who then fell on the ground in a tangle of limbs. Both of them were groaning in pain, and Sirius cast multiple diagnosis charms on them.

Neither appeared to be overtly hurt, but their landing was a bit harsh. The magical residue was rather high, _which wasn't all that surprising_. It registered as a massive electrical assault akin to the chain lightning curse, and that wasn't surprising either. It was the lack of information of what was done to them that was frustrating.

After jotting down the runes, Sirius turned to see that Remus had fallen on top of Tonks in a rather 'interesting' fashion. If it were any other occasion, Sirius would be hooting and whistling at their predicament. Instead, he knelt beside them to check on their state. Even though it didn't show up on the diagnostic spell, it looked like they were recovering from the torture curse.

As it was, Tonks was doing her best to support Remus. He stirred from both her rubbing his back and Sirius' hand on his now clammy forehead. Remus immediately set about sniffing all around the side of Tonks' head and ear. It would've been nice in any other situation, but she was too busy being overwhelmed by her own nose and ears to completely notice.

She could hear their breathing, Sirius' worried mutterings, and Remus' heartbeat. Her nose was filled with the scent of earth, rock, Remus' breath, and was drowning in the scent of his skin, hair and clothes. All of her muscles were twitching in the aftermath, but she almost came completely undone when she heard Remus growl '_Mine_' in her ear. If she were more aware of herself, she'd have been completely mortified to know that she needed a new set of knickers, as the ones she wore were now completely drenched just from the sound of his voice.

Sirius blanched at the deep growling baritone of his long time friend. That voice only came out with his fuzzy little problem. "Moony?"

Remus' head snapped up to glare at Sirius from the side, and Padfoot's fears were seemingly justified. The growling and amber eyes were two weeks too soon. "Moony, _you_ are in control," Sirius said gently, starting the usual mantra he and James would do whenever Remus started to lose it.

For Remus, his senses were on overload. His wolf _knew_ that his mate was under him, as well as the fact that there was another male _far_ too close. His face contorted into a snarl to warn off the interloper, and he felt his body shift in preparation.

Sirius' mouth dropped open in shock as Remus morphed into a full black and grey Dire Wolf, instead of the half and half form of the werewolf. Clothes and everything else on his person vanished as his body transformed. Sirius' mind was racing to figure out what was going on, but it was an exact match for when an animagus shifted. Before he even had a clue, Tonks wrapped her arms around the very large wolf's neck, having to lift up a bit in order to do so.

The sight of Remus turning into the biggest damned wolf she'd ever seen in her life hit Tonks like a sack of bricks to her stomach. Everything in her was submitting to him, but she heard Sirius and realized that Remus wasn't as in control as she thought he was. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his ear.

"Remy, stop," she whispered. The stroking of his other ear and soft whisperings calmed Remus, and he ended up lowering himself to gently lay on top of her.

Sirius held his hand up, palm down, towards his muzzle. "It's me Moony. Padfoot."

The growl at his gesture caused Sirius to frown. Sighing, he shifted into his Grim and rolled on his side in an open display of submission. Moony snorted an acceptance, then proceeded to lick the side of Tonks' face.

Tonks shuddered at the attention, and Sirius was shocked again when her face tried to form a canine snout instead of her usual pig nose.

_'I realize everything's gone to the dogs, but this is ridiculous,'_ Sirius deadpanned to himself.

* * *

In the second floor room of the Sanctuary, the three house elves were startled when their masters began to glow. Hermione was softly glowing a deep crimson, Harry's was green, and Luna's was a rich golden colour.

Dobby appeared to be extremely pleased, and started bouncing in a chair. Noola simply had a large grin on her face. Kreacher on the other hand, was completely incensed. "No! Not the Half Blood!"

As soon as Kreacher moved to try to halt what was happening, Dobby snapped his fingers with a scowl on his face. Kreacher froze in mid air, but appeared to be fighting it. Sighing with a grunt, Noola flicked her fingers and sent Kreacher into a full body bind against the wall. She then silenced him with a snap of her fingers.

"Kreacher will _not_ interrupt," Noola stated primly. "Mistress choose; Not Kreacher." She popped off the table to appear on the floor, and scowled up at him with a chastising finger. "Bad elf!"

* * *

The trio cried for what felt like hours and days, mourning the loss of parents. In their shared grief, a resonance between them occurred and something completely unexpected happened between them. One by one, the three began seeing their own lives with the other two watching as if it were happening to them.

Harry and Hermione saw Luna's life from her very first conscious thought. It was a happy one of being tossed in the air repeatedly by Xeno Lovegood. In that joyous moment, Luna had her first accidental magic outside the womb: Instead of dropping into her father's hands, she floated at the apex of the toss and laughed as only babies could.

Much of her childhood was happy, and the other two saw her first experience with a crumpled horn snorkack. The pair of them were amused when she heard both of them correct her automatically, and she heard the word 'Unicorn' in stereo. She knew this later, of course, but she liked how the other sounded better.

Her parents had taken her to be blessed by what they considered the Queen Mare of the Unicorns. At two years old, she'd looked up in wonder as the graceful being knelt to touch her forehead with her horn.

As she grew, they saw what nargles truly were and were amazed: They were other people's thoughts. Wrakspurts were simply nargles that were all sorts of confused. Harry and Hermione were then teased about how many wrakspurts they had about each other.

Then they saw Luna's first horrific moment. Her mother Celeste was working on some sort of potion, which she called her 'pet project'. She'd done this often, and had explained that it was for two dear friends of hers that were hurt. Epsie and Alor, their two main house elves, were helping her that day.

Something went wrong with the brewing. While she was playing with Noola, the child of their house elves, she heard her mother swear. Popping her head into the room to see what was wrong, there was an explosion that rocked the house and knocked her on her bum. Noola instantly started wailing while she simply stared as her mother fell backwards.

Things seemed to move rapidly on from there to her sorting at Hogwarts, and finding her possessions missing. Cho Chang was a frequent antagonist within House Ravenclaw. Somehow, she'd taken offence at Luna's way of coping. This of course angered Harry and Hermione.

More of her time blurred past to the day the snake came. It was quiet after that, then Luna and Harry began to see Hermione's life from her first conscious thought: _'Why did that fall down?'_ It wasn't words, of course, but the intention was there.

She had been stacking play blocks when the small tower of them had tumbled all over the floor. She wasn't overly upset at this, they saw, and Hermione had looked about her playpen in confusion. She hadn't cried, but instead tried to find something to make the tower stay up.

Luna and Harry were amazed at how highly analytical Hermione's mind was even then. She'd looked for reasons for everything. At nearly three years of age, she had a full discussion with her father on why the sky was blue and the grass was green. Not the typical toddler, she had demanded _why_ they were those colours and got a detailed lecture on how light refracts.

Most of her primary school was spent asking questions, and dodging heckling abuse from her peers for always being the teacher's pet. Several times she had to run away from being tormented. Harry and Luna weren't amused, and the kinship between them grew.

Hermione's sorting at Hogwarts was interesting, as the hat had an actual debate with her between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Luna and Harry were both bemused and saddened that she demanded Gryffindor because she thought she wasn't good enough for Ravenclaw.

Seeing how much hurt Hermione felt over Ron's thoughtless comment, which had sent her to the girl's water closet, infuriated Harry and got a lot of sympathy from Luna – as it reminded her of just how much of a prat he'd been to her growing up. Seeing the rather large Troll from her point of view was vastly different too.

Then Harry saw why she lied about it to the teachers. She wasn't covering for two boys, she lied so that Harry wouldn't get in trouble. Feeling the amazement that Harry would jump on the back of a monster just to save her, had Harry thinking _'I'll always save you'._ That got an _'aww' _out of both girls.

From there, Harry and Luna saw why she stayed around the two boys. It wasn't for the redhead, because she couldn't stand him, but to stay with the raven headed one that saved her life. Harry was astonished to see how often Hermione had simply stared at him in both wonder and longing. How did he miss that?

Luna's initial mental comment of 'life debt' was self corrected when she felt what Hermione was feeling. She was in love, and did everything she could to make sure Harry would do well in school and survive whatever crisis came up.

Hermione's library search for the monster that was petrifying students was an eye-opener for the other two as well. Her only thought at the time was to help Harry kill it. Once she deduced what it was, she pulled a mirror out of her bag and went to find him. Checking round corners with the mirror was what saved her. But, what got her in trouble to begin with, was her curiosity over what it looked like.

Harry was stunned to discover that Hermione could both see, hear and feel what was going on around her while she wad petrified. Other than Madam Pomfrey, Harry was her only visitor. His _'why didn't you tell me later?'_ was immediately answered with _'because I was scared you'd run away from me'_. The _'Never'_ he said was so full of command and defiance that Luna and Hermione both swooned from the intensity of it.

What they were referring to was then seen by Luna, as she saw Harry through Hermione's petrified eyes and heard him read to her, talk to her about class, and outright begging her to get up. Luna was all aflutter with the numerous times he said good night with a kiss to Hermione's cheek. _'And you wonder why I love you both,'_ she chided with a giggle.

Third year's highlight was with the flight on Buckbeak, and how tightly Hermione was holding on to Harry. Even though she was terrified of heights, she calmed herself by squeezing him and listening to his heartbeat through his back.

_'You know, I had bruises from that.'_

_'Sorry.'_

_'You two are so adorable.'_

_'Shut it.'_

_'Hush.'_

Fourth year was nearly pure terror for Hermione. People were killed in that damned tournament, and she was horrified over Harry being submitted against his will. Her hug in the tent was when she was going to tell him she loved him, and then they were caught by that damned woman. The rage she felt staggered both Harry and Luna with the vehemence she felt for Skeeter.

Hermione purposely skipped the entire Yule Ball incident, and the other two were trying to figure out how she did that.

The final task nearly made her heart stop when Harry came back with Cedric's body. The frustrated anger over being unable to help was like a living thing, which was made worse from all the damned people in her way to reach him.

She then glossed over the day that brought them here, because she honestly didn't want to see it again.

After a moment of simply being, Harry was horrified to feel Hermione and Luna when he realized it was his turn. This only made them hold him tighter.

His first conscious thought was _'ow'_. He'd just taken two steps on his own when his legs gave out, and he ended up on his nappy bum. More startling than painful, the girls 'aww'ed at his crying over being scared. Then he was whisked up into the arms of his mother.

_'She's really pretty, Harry.'_

_'Yes. I can see why you are so cute now.'_

_'Stop it.'_

Then all three of them were surprised at him being on a toy broom. They could hear Sirius laughing riotously from below, while his mother repeatedly hit his father with a rolled up Daily Prophet.

Hermione was annoyed,. _'That. Explains. Everything.'_

_'What?'_

_'How you do so well at flying,' _Luna explained.

'_And how he always jumps into things without thinking about it first.'_

_'Do not.'_

_'Do too.'_

"He's here! Lily, take Harry upstairs!"

_'Oh God.'_

_'We've got you Harry.'_

_'You are not alone. We wont let you be alone any more.'_

"Mummy loves you. Dada loves you. No! Don't hurt my baby!"

"Get out of the way, you stupid girl."

"KILL ME INSTEAD!"

"I promised him I wouldn't, but if you insist. AVADA KADAVRA!"

_'No!'_

_'We're here.'_

_'We are right here, Harry.'_

"This is the child that would defeat me? AVADA KADAVRA!"

They watched as the green ray hit something in front of Harry, then reflected to hit Voldemort in the centre of his chest, causing him to explode.

_'What was that?'_

_'I … I don't know, Hermione. Dumbledore said it was mum's love.'_

_'That was old magick,' Luna said._

They watched as Sirius came into the room as little Harry howled. "I've got you, Pronglet. I've got you." He stood there rocking Harry in place and screamed Peter's name.

They saw Hagrid outside as Harry was handed to him. A loud crack told them that Sirius apparated away. Then they saw Dumbledore, who was waving his wand around Harry.

_'What's he doing to me?'_

_'Runes,'_ Luna said. _'That was when he placed them on you.'_

_'I don't understand. What runes?'_

_'Is that blood?'_

_'Yes, Hermione. Dumbledore placed two blood runes on Harry. One to limit his magick, the other to drain it.'_

_'WHAT!?'_

_'I agree. That was dark magick he used on him.'_

_'Why?'_

_'I do not know, Harry. However, is it not interesting how he did that so blatantly and without remorse?'_

_'I don't know what to think.'_

_'I'm going to kill that bastard.'_

_'Hermione!'_

_'Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to bind the magical core of a child? He could've killed you! Luna, do you know where his magick was being drained to?'_

_'Not sure, and that is a disturbing thought in and of itself.'_

The girls were distracted with the memories that Harry didn't want them to see. They were appalled with the decade of hell that he went through with his relatives. The beatings, the starvation, the slave like labour that he was subjected to, it was a never ending nightmare.

_'Oh my GOD, Harry! Why didn't you say anything?'_

_'He could not. It would have made it real.'_

_'Please … skip this … '_

_'No. I need to see it all.'_

Luna and Hermione saw an abridged version of his life with the Dursleys. The things that stood out were the floggings, being chased by his cousin and the small cluster of thugs. Accidental magick was a surprise when they saw him apparate with a loud crack to the roof of a building just to get away from them.

_'That's impossible.'_

_'Not for Harry.'_

Luna and Hermione were then horrified to see Harry tied to the bannister of the stairs, then whipped with a large belt across his back.

_'THEY'RE MONSTERS!'_

_'Hermione, stop. This is hurting him now.'_

_'Oh God, Harry. I'm sorry.'_

Harry was relieved to go to his first happy memory of that place: the day he got his first letter.

_'That is NOT addressed to you 'Under the Stairs' Harry. Tell me it isn't!'_

_'It is, Hermione.'_ Luna said. _'We cannot trust the Headmaster.'_

Seeing the troll incident from Harry's point of view was rather enlightening for Hermione. For one thing, he didn't hesitate in jumping on that thing's back. The other was the thought that went though his head when he did it: _'I'll KILL you if you touch her!'_ She realized he wasn't really thinking at that moment.

_'So, you really jabbed your wand up his nose?'_ Luna asked, honestly curious.

_'Gimme a break, Luna. Two months on magic theory. I just wanted to stab that thing!'_

_'I fell so hard for you when you did that,' _Hermione said quietly.

Having seen the rest already, Hermione then proved her brilliance by skipping ahead again. The girls felt his hopelessness when he would read to Hermione while she was petrified, then his surging awe at the note in her hand on what it was, then to the battle with the basilisk.

_'How are you doing that?' _Harry asked just before they saw the basilisk.

_'That … is very large.'_ Luna stated flatly.

Hermione was appalled. _'It's HUGE!'_

_'Yeah.'_ Harry said. _'Better than the belt though.'_

_'It bit you!' _the girls chorused.

_'How are you still alive, Harry?'_ Luna asked. _'Oh, a phoenix. I wonder. Is that how you got us? You appeared the same way she did, in a ball of fire.'_

_'I apparated to you?'_

_'Yes … you did. How interesting.'_

_'I need to hit the library,' _Hermione said with a touch of annoyance. That part really didn't make sense at all.

* * *

Across Britain, several locations recorded the activity in the Lovegood Sanctuary. Three family tree tapestries updated themselves with a name change for two of them, and a couple of additions on the other.

In the Ministry, two files in the Hall of Records transferred themselves to another family registry. They folded themselves into paper aeroplanes and drifted to one of the older repositories in the rear. This happened to coincide with a loo break and was completely missed.

An alert in Gringotts chimed, and a relatively young and excitable goblin rushed into the Director's office. Ragnok wasn't amused at the very undignified action, but overlooked it when the intern gave the news.

In Hogwarts, the main student registry tome had three names change and rearrange themselves. Two were family names, and all three had a title added.

* * *

In the Department of Mysteries, two Unspeakables on duty were alerted to this by a glowing book. Upon reading the latest entry, both of them were understandably surprised.

**On this date, 8 July 1995  
**_**Lord Harold James Potter  
Lady Hermione Jane Potter  
Lady Luna Celeste Potter  
did form a trinary soul bond.**_

* * *

Needless to say, things changed that morning. The Unspeakables noted the change and kept to themselves. It was completely missed at both the Hall of Records and Hogwarts. Gringotts was a flood of activity at the alert. Two house elves were overjoyed while the third was cursing loudly in his frozen head.


	7. Fallout

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Seven  
- Fallout -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except what I write._

* * *

Chapter _Seven_**  
- Fallout -**

It was going on noon when Sirius finally came down off of his PepperUp potion. He contemplated taking another to keep a regular sleeping schedule, but opted against it since everyone else was pretty much dead to the world anyway. Sitting back lengthwise on the main sofa in the Lovegood Retreat, he thought his life couldn't get any more strange.

He was wrong, of course.

* * *

Getting Remus and Tonks into the retreat proved to be a bit problematic, since the elves weren't answering. While brassed off about that, he was grateful for not having to deal with Kreacher. As it was, he waited over an hour before Tonks was able to walk, and led her and a still rather 'fuzzy' Remus into the enclave.

Tonks was half asleep on her feet, and Remus kept her upright by letting her lean on him as they followed Sirius through the remaining tunnel. While he hadn't thought anything of their location, other than '_Keep Harry Safe_', Tonks was a bit vocal at seeing the small inner world.

Stumbling, Tonks' mouth was on a run. "Cor and Blimey! Did the Lovegoods stumble down the rabbit hole or something? This place looks straight out of a fairy tale!"

She was closer to the truth than she knew. The inner space of the mound was a lot bigger than the mound itself. Several acres of land were lit by a curved ceiling that worked similarly to the one in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

Sunshine from it seemed a bit more ethereal than normal. A haze permeated the place that left it somewhat dreamlike. There were a few trees here and there; a small pond; lots of strange looking plants that didn't appear in Herbology lessons; and a stone circle that reminded one of the many such places around Britain with waist high rocks. Off to the left of the entrance they came in was a small nondescript house that appeared to be made of mud-brick and thatch.

Sirius grinned at her. "The Lovegoods have Fae blood, so you're not that far off. The kids are in there," he pointed at the house. "It has rather hefty space expansion charms and several floors."

Tonks smiled tiredly. "I love magic. Bed? I'm knackered."

Sirius nodded. "Second floor. Luna's house elf left two bedroom doors open. Go on up, pick a room and kip out."

After being amused at watching the 'new and improved' Moony nose Tonks up the stairs, Sirius explored and found a pantry. After small meal of bread, cheese and a bit of wine, Sirius flopped on the main sofa and let himself drift off – wondering at the strangeness of his life.

* * *

Hermione woke to a splitting headache, and found that she was palming her forehead. She then felt the warm body that she was cuddling into and took a quick mental inventory on her state of dress. Satisfied that she was clothed, she opened her eyes and found herself staring at a blond mirror. "Oh, my head hurts," she whimpered.

"Harry's pain, not ours," Luna said with tears in her eyes, while rubbing her own forehead. Looking about the room, she noted Kreacher stuck to the wall with a bit of amusement. "Noola? Harry is in pain."

A soft pop gathered the girls' attention to the head of the bed. Hermione saw a rather young looking female elf in a flower patterned yellow dress, sitting cross-legged on the pillow behind Harry's head. A potion vial was in her left hand, and she reached down to place her right over Harry's bandage. "Time to change it," she said with a nod.

Luna took the small vial and had Hermione help her tip the pain potion into Harry's mouth. While Noola changed his bandage, their headaches faded. What they saw of the scar wasn't pretty at all, but it was healing – albeit slowly.

"I don't understand," Hermione said with a furrowed brow. "Why would giving him a potion help us?"

"Because it was Harry's pain we were feeling," Luna stated matter of factly.

Hermione just looked at her, a touch more confused. "But why…"

"The Ladies have bonded with their Lord," Noola interrupted with a happy grin.

After a long blink, Hermione's brain caught up with the rest of her. "All of that really happened?"

"Mm-hmm," Luna nodded with a grin. "And I can tell that you really like the idea, but are having trouble accepting me as part of it."

Hermione's mouth opened, then snapped shut with a click of her teeth. Truth hurts, and that little voice in the back of her head was being petulant about seeing him first.

Then she looked at Luna with a bit of recognition on her face. "And you have no problems waiting. Why do I know that?" Luna just looked at her with an upturned brow and a smirk. "Because it was a soul bonding," Hermione said slowly, then frowned. "I never read that book."

"I did," Luna said with a grin. "I know you and I were just acquaintances, and all we had in common was our feelings for Harry, but…"

"You have feelings for me as well," Hermione finished the sentence with wide eyes. "This is very strange."

"But you _like_ it," Luna said with a saucy wink.

Blushing furiously, Hermione tilted her head. "_May_be…"

Giggling, Luna reached over and poked her on the nose. "We cannot lie to each other. Now stop all that foolishness." And with that, she leaned over Harry to kiss her. "Just remember," she whispered, "while we share him, you two also share _me_."

"Noted," Hermione whispered back, before grinning and giving Luna a brief kiss.

Luna tilted her head. "Did you know there's a blank spot in your head? Keep it buried and it can only hurt you."

Hermione blinked. "What?"

* * *

Sitting in her office, Minerva was taking a much needed break from her duties. As much as she liked teaching children, dealing with the muggle parents of future first years could be truly tiresome. Overcoming their scepticism was usually easy enough. Transfiguring a piece of their furniture into a pig was usually all it took, or shifting into her cat animagus as a good back up. However, convincing them to send their children to a boarding school for ten months was what usually took time and patience.

She had just finished a light lunch when there was a knock on the door. "Come in?"

Her diminutive friend for over thirty years entered without so much as a hello. "Have you seen?" Flitwick squeaked, holding up a stack of papers.

"Apparently not," Minerva said with a frown. "Whatever is the matter?"

Flitwick came around her desk and handed her one of the documents in his hand. "I was going over the final exams, entering grades into the register, when her name changed."

Minerva blinked at what she read, and there was a moment of shock and surprise. "Luna _Potter_?"

Setting the paper down, she stood from her desk and went to the far side of her office. "Whisper Whisker," she said quietly, and a small alcove opened. It was just large enough for a single thick tome. Removing it, she went back to her desk and started flipping through the pages.

Seeing her agitation, Flitwick was worried. "What's the matter?"

"She's not here! Wait." Hurriedly flipping through the book, she went to the 'P' section. Blowing out a loud sigh of relief, she sat down rather heavily. She waved her hand to the book. "Please read that and tell me I've not gone dotty."

Brow furrowing, Flitwick conjured a small wooden box and stepped up to see what had his friend in such a state. Bending over the book, he traced a finger down the list of names. After a moment, he looked up and turned to Minerva. "Still have the bottle? I think this calls for a drink."

"I'm not seeing things then?" she asked, a bit surprised.

"I don't think so," he replied, stepping back down and banishing his makeshift step-stool. "However, I do believe our bet has been thoroughly thwarted," he stated with a scowl.

Startled, Minerva started chuckling. "Of all the things to worry about. It's ten galleons… Wait. Forgot to whom I was speaking with," she finished with a sigh.

Their wager, of course, was whether or not Harry Potter would marry Hermione Granger or Luna Lovegood, the star pupils of their respective houses. With the both of them, all they could do is swap an equal amount of money. Pointless and depressing for the half goblin. However…

"On the other hand," he said with a gleam in his eye, "our other proviso still stands, so pay up." He grinned at her scowl and held his hand out, wiggling his fingers.

"Oh, very well," she harrumphed, digging five gold coins from her money purse. "Honestly, the thought of them getting married before graduating."

"A bet is a bet, Minerva," Flitwick stated happily.

She eyed him critically, before pursing her lips. "You don't have to be so damned smug about it." His response was a rather toothy smile.

Minerva then took the mickey out of him, and stomped all over his happy place at the same time. "I would guess that this means you lose your top Raven to the Lions Den?" The rapid scowl that descended had her chuckling as she handed the coins over. "Fair price, five galleons," she teased.

Flitwick shook his head. "Be that as it may, shouldn't we inform the headmaster of these… 'changes'?"

"I would think that he has enough problems dealing with the Wizengamot and the ICW," she mused. "Regardless, I'll have the house elves prepare one of the married quarters close to the Gryffindor tower."

Minerva paused, smirking. "Five galleons says Albus will faint."

Grinning, Fillius countered. "Five says he blows his stack."

Chortling, they shook on their bet and awaited next September with a sense of anticipation. Whatever happened would be quite the spectacle, and they couldn't wait to see it.

* * *

The scene in St. Mungos was sombre. After Ginny was placed in the room with Fred, Molly joined Arthur and George in their vigil. It was quiet, save for the few subdued sniffles from Molly. She sat by her daughter's bed and kept fretting her fingers through Ginny's hair.

George had nodded off in a chair next to Fred's bed some time ago, and added to the small noises with a touch of a snore. As for Arthur, he alternated between sitting stock still and pacing the room.

There was a soft knock on the door before it opened, and Arthur saw Kingsley step into the room. Looking over his family, he went to the door where he was invited outside. "What is it, Kingsley?"

Waiting till the door closed behind them, Kingsley put all of his professionalism forward. "I'm sorry Mr. Weasley, but we need you to come down to identify your son. It's pointless, I know, but necessary."

As a relatively simple man to everyone, it came as a bit of a surprise when Auror Shacklebolt had to step back from the Patriarch of the Weasley family. The hard glint in his eyes nearly matched the aura of power he now radiated. If this was surprising, the next absolutely floored him.

Pulling something out of his back pocket, Arthur showed a platinum and gold badge to the auror. "Tell me everything you know about the attack, who was involved, and the current state of the inquiry."

Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of the Lead Aurors in the DMLE, was completely taken off guard at the sight of a badge from one of the Unspeakables. This was Arthur Weasley for Merlin's Sake! First, it was out of protocol for him to have revealed himself as belonging to the organization, as they were a secretive lot; second, Arthur was too personally involved and it was a rather large breech of protocol.

Unconsciously coming to attention, Kingsley gave a short nod to his friend and threw the book out the window. "Of course sir. We can talk on the way to the morgue."


	8. Rats

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Eight  
- Rats -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except what I write._

_Do yourself a favour and go read 'A Marauder's Plan' by CatsAreCool. It is very in depth, a wonderful read, and ponders what would happen if Padfoot hadn't fled after being rescued by Harry and Hermione on the back of a hippogriff. It is simply Brilliant!_

* * *

Chapter Eight**  
- Rats -**

Azkaban, the height of both Magical security and barbarism. It's the stick to keep the less than moral in line. It's also where St. Mungos receives so many of the residents in their long term spell damage ward. If one survives the experience, they have the rest of their lives to recover from it. Dementor related injuries aren't forgiving.

One dazed and crazed inmate was twirling a lock of her unmanageable hair with a creepy smile on her face. She'd been here for over a decade, and her state of mind was questionable to start with. With the dementors' baleful presence in the high security ward, what was left of her mind was long, long gone.

To her fractured mind, everything was funny. If it wasn't for the daily feedings of gruel by the human guards, there wouldn't be any sort of human contact – such as it was. Guards with more than one stint in the hell-hole warned the rookies to stay clear of her. It was just a bit of fun. Some play pokey with the random maiming. It was all good to her.

She didn't like what they tasted like, but then again they didn't like being tasted. Still, it was fun to nip an ear off, or a finger – _maybe something more up close and personal_. She did try to resist that bit of naughty, but it lasted all of one year. She was good, really she was. Now they've all sworn themselves off of her nookie broom.

She really missed the nookie.

A pellet that was on her cot enlarged itself, much to her surprise. She'd seen the rat that dropped it, and thought it strange. Rats didn't last long in this place. It had little to do with the nastiness, but for the fact that they tasted better than the slop they threw at the inmates.

She had to focus when she picked the large pellet up. When she did, she realized that it was a scroll of parchment affixed with a wax seal. _How unusual, _she thought.

Forcing her eyes to focus, an even more frightening smile crossed her face. The large and elaborate 'V' imprinted in the wax just made her entire year. Snapping the seal, she unfurled the scroll to read.

_**B.L.**_

_**I shall be coming for you at midnight. Be ready, my dear. We shall soon lay waste to the Ministry and reclaim our **__**birthright**__** and **__**glory.**_

_**I have checked on Meissa. She is well, yet declined to meet with you. Hopefully we will rectify this together. She cannot say no to both of her parents. If she does, you know what to do.**_

_**Be ready. Be strong.**_

_**I am coming for you.**_

_**L.V.**_

It always seemed to be addressed to 'Beloved' and signed with 'Love'. Well, that was what her brain translated at any rate. Her smile was vicious now. Turning to the door of her cell, she saw the rat and realized who it was with a titter. Her laughter caused it to shiver. "Tell him I'm waiting!" She couldn't hear the inmates closest to her to quiet down over her cackling, and didn't notice when the missive spontaneously combusted.

Bellatrix was going to get to come out and play!

Two cells down, while Bella was having another one of her fits, her husband was reading his own letter. Instead of rejoicing, he crumpled the parchment and tossed it out of his cell in a fit of pique – where it self-destructed in a ball of flame.

It was no secret amongst the Dark Lord's followers that his wife favoured their leader in _every_ way over him. Their wedding night was a right nightmare of pain and blood. His brother was no help, simply because he was terrified of the bitch. Small wonder.

Hexed bits will do that to a man, especially with the threat of more if no one listened to her. Once again, he cursed the Dark Mark on his arm that held back his fury. Once sworn, you had to follow the Dark Lord in everything. The magic demanded it. Look what happened to _Regulus_, for Merlin's sake!

So here he was, trapped. Forced to follow the man that took his wife. Well, if he had no choice in the matter, then he'd raze the ground with as much blood as possible. That was satisfying in its own right after all and he smiled at the thought.

"Bella gets to play! Bella gets to play!" his 'wife' crooned in that disgusting baby voice of hers.

Rodolphus Lestrange was not a happy man. "Oh _Stuff_ It Bella!" he called for the umpteenth time. And once again, it was echoed by Dolohov and others down the hall.

* * *

Leaving the way he came, which was through the tight confines of the sewers, Pettegrew lamented against his current station in life. Sure, trying to get Bella's daughter was fun – _up until Prongs Junior bollocksed up the entire thing and stole her away_ – but missions like this set his teeth on edge and affected his bowels. He so _hated_ the dementors.

His mind flitted back and forth between three points. One: How did the brat do that? It wasn't an apparition and had something to do with fire. Two: How in the bloody hell did he know to come get her in the first place? Three: He was actually _grateful_ that he distracted her. He knew what little Bella was going to throw next, if not for the first word, then for the green glowing tip of her wand even before she said anything. He wasn't all that agile to avoid it, and it appeared that he owed his life to the boy yet _again_.

That hadn't kept the Dark Lord from hitting him with the torture curse. It wasn't like it was his fault of course, but that wasn't a real excuse. The Dark Lord said it was his fault, so he had to take his punishment. Arguing only made it worse, and was a stupid move to even try.

_'James wouldn't have done that,'_ he thought to himself. This of course brought him full circle to lamenting his station in life, the decisions he made, and believing the lies that got his friends and protectors killed. In short, he was hating himself, and yet too afraid to do anything about it.

* * *

Arthur Weasley was completely livid. Through Kingsley, he discovered who was involved in the attack on his family and the destruction of The Burrow. There were seven magical signatures apart from the family, and one of them was unaccounted for. Of those captured, _meaning killed_, the names were both a relief and a source of outrage at how they bought their way out of Azkaban after the first war.

Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Jugson, Macnair, and Nott were casualties of the aggressors, and Arthur would put several galleons on _Lucius-Bloody-Malfoy_ being the one that got away. Lucius' involvement with that thrice cursed diary that nearly took his only daughter still infuriated him. Arthur's patience was legendary, and he was very nearly to the point of an assassination attempt.

And now, Arthur was standing in the morgue, reading the initial report next to his dead son. _Where did it all go wrong?_ he thought to himself, leaning against the wall and simply staring at the diagonal bisection that went from Ron's upper left hip, to just underneath the ribcage on the right. Thank Merlin for sticking charms. _I need to contact Bill and Charlie. Bill for sure. Ginny will need him. Hell,_ I_ need him. _

The report he was reading also found some discrepancies. With the inspection for evidence in the remainder of the Burrow, _mostly the kitchen and basement_, certain items were discovered. Reading this part, which was at the end of the remaining inventory on the last page, he turned to Kingsley with a half broken voice. "Can you give me a moment?"

Kingsley nodded curtly. "Of course, Arthur." He then stepped out of the room and set himself to guard the entrance.

Pulling his badge from his pocket, Arthur gave it a specific tapping with his wand: Tap – Tap – TapTap. While he waited, he took a seat and tried to reign in his emotions with his occlumency.

A person silently apparated into the room not two minutes later, wearing a concealment cloak of a medium grey colour. The hood was up, which both placed a magical blind for the face, as well as distorting the voice. The way they were designed, no one could tell who or even what gender they were – which served the department's stance for the anonymity of their members.

His partner gasped loudly at the sight of Ron on the slab, and threw the hood back to reveal Andromeda Tonks. "Arthur! What's happened?"

"Death Eaters," he whispered. "They attacked The Burrow, The Rookery, and the Granger House." He paused long enough to wipe his face, and to tend his nose with a handkerchief.

He pointed to two slabs across from them. One had a human shape, but the other didn't. "Dan and Emma Granger are over there, and Xeno's over there," he pointed to another slab in the room.

Gasping again, Andromeda rushed over and pulled the covering from Xeno's face. "No," she whispered as she placed her hand on his cold forehead. Remembering her training, she stood stiffly and wiped her eyes. Bending down, she kissed his forehead before covering him up again. Sniffling, she walked into Arthur's waiting hug.

"Fred and Ginny are upstairs in recovery," Arthur said quietly while rubbing her back, "but there's no sign of Luna or Hermione anywhere."

Andromeda pulled away, and wiped her eyes in an attempt to pull herself together. Rather than have him relive it, she took the report from the chair and read through it quickly. "This will most likely cause an uproar," she said quietly. "Aside from the obvious, four of the deadheads were Heads of their respective Houses."

"This is _personal_ now," Arthur hissed. "My son and our partner is dead. And I _know_ Malfoy is involved." Breathing hard, he tried to reign in his anger once more. "That can wait though. I need you to head to the DMLE and retrieve items 23 and 24 from the evidence lock up."

She wasn't much better than he was, and did her best to keep her tears at bay. "Not a problem. What are they?"

"Casks of Amorentia," he said with a small swear. "I need to know both who they were keyed to and _for_."

"Not Molly," she protested with wide eyes. "She _wouldn't_."

His face was blank. "The family of Prewett wasn't above such things. She used one on me to get me over my shyness in our sixth year, so _yes_ it's possible. However, if I'm right, there could be even greater ramifications in the near future."

"Whom do you suspect they were for?" she asked, certain that this wasn't going to be good from the look of him.

"One of them might have been for me," he said with a resigned sigh. "I'm going to ask Croaker for a flushing potion just to make sure. The other," he paused, not wanting to say it and closed his eyes. "I believe the other was for Harry," he said under his breath.

Andromeda's eyes were large now. "Is she _trying_ to get herself cast out?" she half shouted.

"It may become necessary," he said in a monotone. "If she did… I'll…" he stuttered and looked her in the eye with tears finally streaming down his cheeks. "Andy?"

She hugged him briefly and stepped back to flip her hood up. "I'll be as quick as I can, Artie," she said with a distorted voice, before silently apparating away.

The door opened and Arthur saw Kingsley peek in. He wiped his eyes and nodded to the man, who entered with a bit of trepidation. "Don't worry, you won't be obliviated. In fact, if you're agreeable I'll sponsor you into the DOM. You're a formidable wizard with many talents, Shack."

Once again, Kingsley was taken off guard. Covering that as best as he could, he nodded. "That would be most appreciated, Arthur."

Mr. Weasley inclined his head to the far side of the room. "Xenophilius was the third in my triad. I had intended to approach you later this summer for the formation of another group, but under the circumstances… Would you mind?"

Kingsley was becoming accustomed to the feeling of surprise at this point. If Arthur was an Unspeakable, a man who's geniality was legendary, then the zany eccentricity of the owner of the _Quibbler_ being a part of that group actually made sense. "I would assume that both of your public reputations are a well conceived cover?" Getting a small smile and a nod at that, he returned them and shook his hand. "I would be honoured."

"I'll inform Croaker," Arthur said. "We can do the pomp later this week, but he'll most likely visit you tomorrow." Pausing at that, he felt compelled to look at his son. "_Please_… cover him up," he said in a quiet and shaky voice.

Kingsley did so quickly and gently. "Let's get you back upstairs. Formality is satisfied, and you should be with your family now." Unable to speak any more, Arthur simply nodded and let Kingsley lead him out of the room and up the stairs.


	9. Plots

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Nine  
- Plots -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except the plot._

_As far as I'm concerned, there are more than two states of magic. Light and Dark do not take intent into account, and completely ignore Good and Evil. In my mind, there can be Evil Light and Good Dark Witches and Wizards. This also doesn't take the middle ground between Light and Dark into account, so there should be Good Grey and Evil Grey as well._

_How I view the major players, or leaders of their respective factions:_

_Riddle: (Evil) Dark_

_Potter: (Good) Grey_

_Dumbledore: (Evil) Light_

_With the other two of the triad, I think Hermione and Luna would be (Good) Dark, and (Good) Light respectively. Luna just needs to temper Hermione's more aggressive nature when it comes to combat. _

_Right now as I said, I see Hermione as a (Good) Dark Witch – one that will protect those she loves by any means to her disposal and damn the consequences. If left unchecked, she would most likely go (Evil) Dark to protect Harry, just as Harry would to protect her. They are each others Achilles heel, and would kill just to protect as a first instinct. _

_Luna is the foil to that, and will balance their more vengeful natures to a semblance of order - eventually bringing Hermione to (Good) Grey.  
_

_I say this because once the triad discovers just how much Harry has been manipulated… Well, see for yourselves._

* * *

Chapter Nine**  
- Plots -**

Albus could only wince at the sight of the Burrow when he apparated in. The rickety, yet magically supported structure of the house had been reduced to a combination of burnt wood, broken stone, and various other debris. Three walls of the ground floor remained, and was surrounded by the detritus of the other floors.

Stepping carefully into the remains of the living room, the elderly wizard could see signs of blood on the floor and walls. Used to the signs of war, this didn't bother him all that much. However, he lamented the loss of a cornerstone in his plans.

Coming to the base of the stairs, he could see a plethora of dried blood in two distinct patterns. One was undoubtedly from young Ronald. The other wasn't as large, and had to be from his sister. He could only surmise that Ron placed a binding spell on the girl's leg.

Turning, he spied remains of brain matter on the far wall. While disgusting, he had to admit that it was effective. Loss of life always bothered him though. Other spatters were present, and could see the remnants of Molly's trifecta of duelling spells all over the kitchen floor: Bludgeoning, Cutting, and Piercing hexes.

Pulling out his wand, he ran a trace for his own magical signature. Satisfied in not finding it, he apparated and bounced off of the Rookery's wards. Swearing at himself for landing in a heap, he stood and brushed himself off as he crossed the yard to the single turret that was the Lovegood home.

First thing of note, was the odd way the door had been wrenched from its hinges. The lower corner of the wooden door had been pushed through with considerable force. Inside, the signs of a struggle were all over the ground floor.

What Albus found most peculiar, was the lack of attacking magical signatures. Defensive ones from the Lovegoods were readily apparent, but what were they defending against? The angles didn't make sense either, as it looked like everything was aimed towards the floor.

Pausing at that thought, he turned back towards the door and its broken corner. "Nagini," he murmured quietly. Frowning at the realization, he walked to the border of the Lovegood wards and apparated to the Granger's to further his investigation.

* * *

Opening her eyes, Tonks came face to face with a peacefully sleeping Remus. A slight smirk came with the realization that she was entwined in bed with the man she'd been pursuing for the better part of a year. Then she remembered what had happened at the arch.

Looking him over without ruffling the bed, she saw that he had reverted to normal sometime in the middle of their nap. His clothes were all rumpled, as hers were, but what got her attention was his face.

Remus looked to have lost a lot of the haggard appearance she normally associated with him. The lines of his face were smoother; his hair had lost that touch of grey; and much to her shock, the scars on his face were completely gone.

She really didn't want to upset the lovely cuddling, but she couldn't help but palm the side of his face to give him a kiss. The fact that he kissed her back without waking gave her a wry grin, and she decided to try to see just how far she could go without waking him up.

* * *

Consciousness came slowly to Harry. There was a dull throb from his scar, which told him that something happened. However, he couldn't seem to figure out how to reach up and rub at it. There was a slight panic at the thought of not being able to move, but that was quickly set aside as he felt a pair of hands lightly rubbing his chest.

"Shh. Everything's all right, Harry," he heard Hermione's voice in his right ear.

A slight rustle on his left, and he heard Luna. "Do not try to move too much. Your scar opened rather frightfully, and any sudden movements will agitate it."

"What the hell happened?" he rasped, before coughing from the dryness of his throat. This was quelled by one of them holding his head up slightly, while the other placed a glass to his mouth. He wasn't sure which was doing what, but that thought went away when he tasted pumpkin juice. He drank a bit enthusiastically.

"Easy," Hermione said quietly, as the glass was taken away from his coughing. "Not so fast. You've been out for hours."

"Do you remember what happened?" Luna asked as he opened his eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling graced his vision, and he blinked rapidly in confusion. He remembered nightmares, escaping Privit Drive, and a lot of hugging and kissing. Strangely, some new information was brimming in the back of his mind. Something about bonds, but he was too addled with sleep to make much sense of it at the moment.

"What is that taste?" Luna asked in confusion.

Hermione's giggles were endearing. "He's wanting coffee. It's a muggle drink that helps wake you up in the morning."

"Well, as it is early evening, I'm not sure if it's appropriate," Luna mused. "Tea, maybe?"

"Yes, please," Harry said automatically. Opening his eyes completely, he looked back and forth between the two girls and flushed when he realized they were all in bed together.

Hermione took him by the jaw and turned his head towards her. "None of that embarrassment nonsense," she chided playfully, before giving him a light kiss.

His flush was now scarlet, causing Luna to giggle. "My turn," she sang, before taking him by the jaw to give him a kiss of her own.

While he was confused, they helped to sit him up. This caused a wave of dizziness that seemed to echo between the three of them.

"Okay. Slow now," Hermione said as she held a teacup to his lips. While he drank the sweet tea, she went on a small lecture. "While I doubt we need to vocalize, it's most likely something that needs to be. I don't think you'll believe it otherwise."

Luna picked up where she left off. "While last night was a complete nightmare of events, the result of it all has left us three as one with each other."

"What that means," Hermione continued, "is that the three of us have bound ourselves together."

"Mind, Magic, and Soul," Luna explained, "we three have…"

"…combined ourselves into a gestalt of what we as individuals could do on our own," Harry said, waking up finally. "Which would mean that Luna's ability to see and hear thoughts were shared between us."

"And Hermione's logic and analytical abilities were shared with us," Luna continued with a nod.

"While your more impossible abilities were shared between us two girls," Hermione finished. "I'm so glad you're awake. Luna and I have been worrying and fretting, talking for hours seems like."

It was really strange to him, but what they said was true. Their unique gifts were now spread between the three of them. Shoving that to the side for a bit, he turned and snogged Hermione, much to her delight. Since words weren't really necessary, the thoughts of love and devotion blurred between them while they kissed each other senseless.

When they broke apart, Hermione giggled at the sight of Luna's glazed expression. What made it more humorous, was the fact that her mouth was opening and closing in a phantom motion of kissing. Harry noticed and rectified her problem by snogging her as deeply as he did with Hermione.

"We are never going to get out of this bed if this keeps up," Hermione weakly chided. It would've held a bit more weight if she didn't sound like she was whimpering as she talked. "Besides, we're all a bit stinky."

Harry broke the kiss with a chuckle. "Potter stinks?"

The chuckles over that were punctuated by a slight shove by Hermione, and a pull by Luna to get him out of bed. Luna steadied him when he was upright, as he was still off balance, and Hermione led them out of the room and into the loo for a bath.

Objections were overruled before he could voice them, and he realized that he truly didn't mind at this point, so long as they didn't mind what could possibly happen with his bodily reaction to them. Not only did they not mind, they were actually encouraging it as the bath filled.

* * *

Remus felt good. That was the thing that was nudging him into awareness. He hadn't had a dream like this in a long time, but decided that he rather liked it. All he could discern was that he was being thoroughly snogged. The more aware he became, the more he realized that a soft pair of hands were on either side of his neck. Then he came to the conclusion that there was something quite soft being manipulated with his fingers: a breast and a bum.

Instincts were one thing, but this was something not quite right. The fact that it felt right was beside the point. The real point was that the scent, feel, and sounds were coming from Tonks. That tidbit of information hit his brain, causing him to inhale sharply and pull back a bit.

"Oh, don't stop now," Tonks mewled, before assaulting his mouth again.

Opening his eyes, the sight didn't quite match the scent. Dark brown, nearly black, wavy hair had replaced the straight pink, and her features were both softer and sharper in different areas. He'd seen her like this once before by complete accident, and he wondered if this is what she really looked like. He broke the kiss. "Dora?"

She nodded while nibbling at her lower lip. "The real me," she rasped, almost breathless. "_Blimey_, you know how to kiss," she grinned.

"Why do you hide what you really look like?" he asked, not exactly conscious. "You're gorgeous."

Tonks face lit up in an honest smile. "Oh, I _love_ that silver tongue. Give it back now." And with that, she chased after said appendage while pushing him to his back. He fought back a bit, and she ended up clamping her lips on his neck.

"Dora, wait. Stop," he protested weakly. "You know I'm dangerous. This is a bad idea."

Snorting rather unladylike, Tonks put her mouth to his ear. "Somehow I don't think that excuse holds a lot of water anymore. Remember the arch?" He nodded. "Remember the pain?" He nodded again. "That thing breaks curses, and what is lycanthropy?"

Laying there underneath the rambunctious brunette, Remus was stunned. "It cured me?" he whispered.

Tonks lightly shook her head. "I think it did something else," she mused. "You know the legend of how werewolves came to be? How a dark wizard tried to force himself to be an anamagus and completely bollocksed it up? Well, I think the arch corrected it."

"What do you mean?"

Tonks leaned back and half annoyed him by grinding her hips over his. "You turned into the biggest damned wolf I've ever seen. Might've been a Dire, but I'm not sure. Regardless, after we fell out of the arch… you… uhm… claimed me." Her blush was furious at this point.

Eyes wide and completely awake at this point, what she said sparked some memory of doing just that. It was one of the more surreal moments in his life. However, his over analytical brain tried to dissect that bit of knowledge and came up short. Thinking about the rest of it, he had to ask. "Are you all right with that?"

Tonks' brow arched. "The girl is lying on top of you, doing her best to show you how she's been feeling for the better part of a year." Her questioning look changed to a huge smile. "What do you think?"

Remus blinked. "I think I think too much."

"In that, I do believe we are in agreement," she giggled before going after that wonderful silvered bit of pink that had been making her spare for the past hour.

* * *

In the main dining room, Sirius pushed back from the table and stretched his back out. His hand was sore from drafting letters, and he fretted his other thumb over the complaining muscles. He really didn't like being out of shape, and this small marathon of writing amplified that feeling.

During her vigil in watching over her mistress and her new bondmates, Noola had provided Sirius with the writing materials and a bit of actual lunch while he worked. She had warned him about Kreacher and gave concerns about Dobby, which he agreed that both needed to be tended to in a timely fashion.

While Sirius was stretching, he heard a small clattering of feet coming down the stairs. He grinned when he heard a combination of complaining, chastising and giggling.

"Honestly, Harry, we do need to eat," he heard Hermione before she appeared. "After all of that and the fact that we haven't eaten since yesterday, I'm positively famished!"

Harry was the next to appear as they left the stair to enter the kitchen. Sirius about lost it when he saw him smack then grab Hermione's arse. "But _Mione_, we can have breakfast in bed," he whined.

Luna's laughter overran Hermione's squeak from the bum tap. "I do believe we have created a _monster_, Hermione."

"Good thing there's two of us, then," Hermione mumbled as she pushed her way into the kitchen. "Harry, if you don't stop, I'm going to frog-march you back upstairs!"

Gathering her into a hug from behind, Harry rested his chin on her shoulder. "That's the idea," he whispered in her ear, making her shudder.

"You're impossible," she half-heartedly complained. "Seriously though, we _do_ need to eat. I'm starving."

Standing in the other doorway, Sirius was grinning his face off. "There's a pun in there, but I think I'd be hexed for it. You seem to be looking better. And, what's this about 'two of us'? Something you want to share, Harry?"

"Not hardly," Harry snapped with a glare, before a plate of food appeared in his hands when Hermione escaped. "They're mine and you can't have any, so there." He then proved his maturity by sticking his tongue out at his godfather.

Sirius was confused, but seeing Hermione's scarlet blush as she sat at the table, then Luna's beaming smile as she ran her fingertips along Harry's shoulders when she passed him, he caught on quickly and punched the air. "Way to go, pup!"

"Oh _please_, not now," Hermione complained, hiding her face behind her hair. "I just want to eat. I'm starving." As she said this, her own plate appeared in front of her. She was pleased to note that she now had a Full English Breakfast. "Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome, Mistress," Noola said from the counter. She was standing on it and directing food both through the air, and from stasis. "Please eat, Master. You need more than you have taken lately."

Harry looked at the plate in his hands, just now recognizing that he was holding it. "Oh, right." He sat to Hermione's left at the small table and reached for the pitcher of pumpkin juice.

Luna, observing their antics with a grin, sat on the other side of Harry when her favourite breakfast landed on the table: Pancakes and eggs, covered with syrup, with a side of pudding.

It was at this point when everyone heard a clattering from the stairs, followed by a loud round of swearing from their resident accident prone victim, and stifled chuckles. "Oh… _stuff_ it, wolfie, and help me up!"

The four of them turned their heads towards the door when they heard Tonks shriek, then began laughing when they saw Remus carrying Tonks over his shoulder. "That's not what I meant!" she protested rather loudly.

"Then learn how to walk, Dora," Remus chuckled. He popped up a bit straighter when she retaliated with a swift smack on the backside that was nearly in her face. "Keep _that_ up, and you wont get dinner."

"How're you feeling, Moony?" Sirius asked when Tonks was sat in a chair rather abruptly. "Morning, Nymphie." A small light show from Tonks' wand hit his face, which then sprouted a multitude of small tentacles. "Sorry, habit," he said a bit muffled.

Hermione eyed Sirius, then looked at Tonks. "Teach me that?" Tonks grinned and nodded at her.

"I'm doing extremely well," Remus said with an honest smile on his face. "Better than you, at least, Padfoot."

* * *

Having breakfast for dinner would've been a novelty, had everyone not slept most of the day. Still, everyone tucked in with a bit of relish. Moony's announcement of his release from lycanthropy was met with hugs and congratulations after Sirius verified it with a werewolf detection spell. This was immediately followed by Tonks stating most emphatically that Remus was off the market, which met with another round of hugs.

While Noola was clearing the table, Sirus wiped his mouth and looked over to his godson. "So, what is going on with you three?"

Hermione's raised head and act of indifference would've held more weight had she not blushed nearly a full crimson. Luna's dreamy smile as she put her head on Harry's shoulder spoke volumes. Harry on the other hand, had a quasi evil grin that was ruined by an equal shade of pink on his face.

Remus had a raised brow at that, while Sirius' smirk was threatening to fly off his face. "No way," Tonks said with wide eyes. "Spill!"

"Well…" Hermione started, then stopped after opening her mouth a few times.

Harry looked at her. "It's not _that_ complicated. Or, are you completely embarrassed?"

"Second one," she admitted quietly while looking very intently at the wall. It was a most interesting wall, light beige with Tudor framing. Yes, most interesting.

Lifting her head from Harry's shoulder, Luna glanced at Harry, then at Hermione, before turning to the others. "Over the day, the three of us had a merger of souls. We are quite complementary of each other, so it was not that much of a surprise."

Hermione's head snapped to Luna. "I was!" she squeaked. "I mean… I thought it was something only in stories, and with _two_ people. Fantasies be damned, but I didn't think it was _possible_!"

Looking back and forth between them, Harry's mind was more focussed on their bath. This prompted a huge smile out of Luna, while Hermione bumped shoulders with him. "Bad Harry," she whispered.

"No he's not," Luna countered. "I want to do that again. Dry this time. Well, I suppose it won't be dry, but drier than being in the washing. Although, that was fun. Still, a bed might be better next time."

"I'm game," Harry immediately spouted, causing Hermione to grin devilishly.

While Sirius and Remus were speechless, Tonks blinked rapidly and shook her head. "All three of you are soul bound?" Three nodding heads confirmed it. "You do know what this means, don't you?"

"They know because I know," Luna said, which got the other two nodding again.

"Well, this is going to blow the Prophet out of the water, not to mention Witch Weekly," Tonks said. Looking at her glass of juice, she wished for something stronger.

"I'm lost," Remus said, to which Sirius just gaped at him.

Blinking a bit, Sirius had to poke that. "You, the brains of the Marauders, have never heard of soul bonds?"

"I can't be a genius at everything, Padfoot," Remus complained. "Now, just spit it out!"

"They're married," Tonks explained.

Remus eyed the triad, looking back and forth between Luna and Hermione. "Which one?"

"All three of them are," Sirius said. "I need to amend one of my letters now."

"Wait," Remus said, blinking. "Isn't that bigamy?"

"Why? You're not married to them," Harry deadpanned, earning a whap on one shoulder and a flicked finger on the other. Sirius broke the tension by bellowing in laughter.

Tonks' hair was cycling colours while she tried not to laugh at the pun. "Not to put a dampener on things, but everyone will know that you three are together now." This got everyone's attention, and she nodded. "The Ministry registers soul bonds when they happen, as I imagine Hogwarts records do."

"Gringotts does as well," Sirius added. "Which is why I need to amend my letter."

"Why?" Harry asked.

Sirius looked him in the eye. "Because, Harry, we need to go there so you can claim your inheritance."

"Which is what?" Hermione asked, before realizing she knew already. "Oh my." She looked at her husband and smiled. "Harry, you're a Lord."

Luna nodded at that with a smile. "Why do you think that so many girls want him?"

"I thought it was because of all the Boy-Who-Lived rubbish," Harry said with a frown. "I'm a Lord?"

"There might be more to it," Sirius said. "I'm not sure, because James didn't have the chance to claim his when your grandfather was killed."

Harry looked alarmed and worried at the same time. "My _grandfather_ was killed?"

"We _really_ need to hurt some people," Remus grumbled. "No one's told you a damned thing."

"We will," Sirius agreed. "But first, we need to talk about Dobby." The abrupt change in subject took everyone off guard, and they all stared at him. He nodded. "Luna, what happens when an elf is without a wizarding family?"

Luna sadly lowered her head, but before she could explain, Hermione stood up in shock. "_What_?" she shouted. "They lose their _magic_? They _die_? _Why didn't anyone tell me_!?" she shrieked.

Equally upset about the situation, mainly because he was actually responsible for it, Harry stood and called out rather loudly. "Dobby!"

Popping into the room, Dobby looked up at everyone. "Yes, Harry Potter?"

Turning, Harry stepped away from the table and knelt in front of his diminutive friend, taking him by the shoulders. "Dobby, are you all right? I just learned what it means for you to be without a family. I am _so_ sorry. I didn't know."

Dobby couldn't look him in the eye. "The shakings come and go, Harry Potter, but Dobby is beings all right."

Harry looked to Hermione, who nodded with tears in her eyes, then back to Dobby. "Would you like to be a Potter Elf?"

Shocked, Dobby stood straighter and looked Harry in the eyes with his rather large ones. "The Great Harry Potter wants Dobby?"

Harry nodded with a smile. "As a friend, yes." Before he was finished speaking, Harry had his arms full of a blubbering house elf. Since Luna was actively thinking about it, Harry knew what to say. "The Potter family would be honoured to have Dobby be bonded in friendship."

Sirius was surprised with the last two words, because that wasn't a part of the ceremony. However, knowing Harry and Hermione like he did, it made a lot of sense. They reminded him of James and Lily so much it made his heart hurt.

Dobby, with his chin on Harry's shoulder, smiled. "Dobby would be honoured to be bonded to the house of the Great Harry Potter in friendship." A small green glow briefly came from Harry and Dobby when the ceremony was complete. A half second later, Luna and Hermione briefly glowed green as well. This made Luna smile, while Hermione was surprised.

"That's supposed to happen, right?" Hermione asked, then softly answered herself. "Of course. We're both the Ladies Potter."

Harry let go of Dobby, and the little fellow fell back a step while rubbing his eyes. "Goodness," he mumbled before looking up at his family. "The Lord and Ladies have tremendous magic."

"You're getting a monthly stipend and a day off a week, no exceptions," Hermione stated flatly.

Harry nodded before Dobby could protest. "And no punishing yourself. If there's a problem, come to one of us first. Okay?"

"We will always be your friends, good sir," Luna said with a smile.

Dobby blinked rapidly and was completely overcome with emotion. Rather than make a fool of himself, he smiled wide. "Friends!" And with that, he popped away.

Before anyone could comment, Dobby popped back. "What about Winky, master?"

"Call me Harry, please. Is Winky all right?"

Dobby shook his head. "Winky beings drinkings. Hogwarts not enough. Winky needs family."

Realizing that Dobby couldn't explain any better since he was so happy at the moment, Hermione spoke up. "Dobby. If she can stay off the drink for a week, we may be able to help her. Is that all right?"

The flapping of ears was comical from how rapidly Dobby was nodding his head. "Thank you Mistress!" he said, before popping away again.

Not liking her new moniker, Hermione squinted her eyes. "We'll work on that later."

While she and Harry sat back at the table, Sirius spoke up. "Okay people, we need to discuss Gringotts now. Harry needs to claim the Potter ring, and I need to claim the Black ring." His letter appeared in front of him, along with a quill and inkwell. "Thank you Noola."

"How are we supposed to get there without you being seen?" Harry asked.

"Portkey," Sirius explained while he added a postscript to his letter. "Gringotts provides them for a fee, and don't give two knuts if you're wanted by the Ministry or not. Business is business with the Goblins. So long as they make gold, they're happy." His missive completed, Sirius went into his plan with the others.


	10. Gringotts

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Ten  
- Gringotts -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except the plot._

_This chapter is split in half mainly because I have a sinus migraine from hells heart. Expect a part 2 in a few days._

_I was accused of clichés. Honestly, with all the fanfic out there, there's hardly anything that isn't anymore. Well, save for Harry Crow. Now THAT's one hell of a story. Highly recommend it._

* * *

Chapter Ten**  
- Gringotts -**

It was just after seven in the evening when six people arrived at Gringotts via portkey. The atrium they appeared in was several floors below ground and guarded by no less than six armoured Goblins. Out of everyone there, only Tonks and Harry were staring up at everyone in annoyance.

"I _hate_ wizarding travel," Harry grumbled as he was helped to his feet by a smirking Hermione and Luna.

Tonks was being hauled up by the Marauders and was nodding her head in agreement. "I'm with _you_, mate. It's like they're all specifically designed to make me look ridiculous!"

Remus and the girls chuckled, but Sirius was eyeing Tonks and Harry with a look of speculation on his face. Nymphie explained once that her centre of balance was askew due to her being a metamorphmagus. While Harry was a demigod on a broom, every other form of magical travel had him on his arse. Testing his theory, he asked her a simple question. "They're not all bad, are they? You're decent on a broom, right?"

Rubbing her bum, Tonks tilted her head while her hair changed from purple to pink. "Yeah, okay. Not _all_ travel, but that's the exception to the rule. I _was_ a decent keeper on the pitch." Harry nodded his agreement to the broom theory when they were interrupted.

Standing at the archway to the portkey atrium, a Goblin in a rather expensive looking muggle three piece suit cleared his throat. "Welcome to Gringotts. If you will follow me, we can attend the first of your requested meetings. Snaphook is awaiting the Scion of the House of Black."

While they followed the as of yet unidentified goblin, the triad had a silent conversation in their minds. Harry marvelled at how quickly things could get done when one involved house elves, as Dobby had delivered Sirius' request and returned with the hoop portkey in hardly any time at all. Hermione thought that house elves were horribly underestimated, while Luna wondered why no one had thought to do such a thing before. That thought caused the other two to shrug.

They were led to a rather unremarkable conference room, which had an equally mundane appearing table. The only thing of note about said table was that it was somewhat triangular in shape. The odd thing about it was one point of the stretched triangle didn't have a seat. The shorter of the three sides was for the goblin representative, as the amount of paperwork normally required the space.

As their guide was leaving, Harry held out his hand. "Thank you, Griphook. May your coffers overflow."

Startled, the goblin looked up and blinked at him, before grinning and shaking his hand. "And may your enemy's blood drench the earth, Mr. Potter."

After the door closed, everyone took a seat. Remus and Sirius sat on either side of Tonks, while Hermione and Luna did the same with Harry on the other side of the table. Sirius grinned at his godson. "That was _perfect_, Harry. How'd you know his name?"

Shrugging, Harry grinned back. "Well, he _was_ the first goblin I ever met."

"How can you tell them apart?" Tonks asked, completely confused.

Harry just stared at her and countered with, "You can't?"

When Snaphook arrived, everyone stood as Sirius had instructed earlier and either gave him a half bow or a one handed curtsey. Snaphook smirked at them. "Please be seated. As Orion Arcturus Black left only a standard will to the line of succession, this will be brief."

Opening his briefcase, Snaphook retrieved a small dagger and a rather thick piece of parchment. Handing both to Sirius, he nodded to the man. "Please knick a finger and let three drops of blood onto the parchment."

Nodding, Sirius neatly sliced his left middle finger and did as he was told. While he held the rapidly healing finger to his mouth, everyone watched as words and boxes appeared on the parchment. The boxes were a hereditary lineage, while the words below stated what Sirius could claim as his inheritance.

_**Sirius Orion Black**_

_**Hereditary Titles:**_

_Lord Black – Repository 13_

_Earl of Blackmoor – Vault 25_

_Count of Hanover – Vault 53_

_Baron Macmillan – Vault 1123_

_**Special Abilities:**_

_Animagus – Grim_

_**Affinity:**_

_Charms, Potions_

_**I.Q.** - 149_

"Count of Hanover and Baron Macmillan are a surprise," Sirius commented, then looked up. "No, wait. Macmillan was my grandmother's maiden name."

Remus arched his brow. "Isn't Hanover a muggle title?"

Nodding, Sirius agreed. "Yes, but so are the Earl of Blackmoor and Baron Macmillan."

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked.

Sirius grinned. "It means that I can sit on the muggle House of Lords if I wanted to. I think Greengrass is the current proxy for the Earldom."

Tonks leaned over to take a peek. "So, you really are a Grim? Thought that was a magical creature."

"Don't," Remus chided. "You're just going to inflate his ego."

"Like he needs it," Harry quipped. Sirius replied with a very mature tongue sticking out at his godson.

Amused with the byplay, Snaphook cleared his throat. "Now that we've verified your inheritance, here are your vault keys and signet ring for the House of Black."

Sirius pocketed the keys and slid the ring over his right middle finger. It glowed briefly and resized itself to fit. Immediately following, Sirius head popped straight as the rush of family magic filled him.

"You all right?" Harry asked him.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. Surprisingly, the family magic feels neutral. I'd have thought it to be a bit Dark."

"Only a few families have truly Dark hereditary magic, Lord Black," Snaphook commented. "Now, are you certain about your other requests?"

"Yes," Sirius said firmly. "Andromeda Tonks is to be restored to the Black Family Line along with her daughter Nymphadora." He caught the fist that was about to smack his shoulder. "Sorry, but it's required."

"_Hate_ that name," Tonks growled.

Sirius just grinned at her. "As to the other, Narcissa and Bellatrix are to be struck from the Black Family Line. Draco is to be included with that, and the other will have to depend on what happens next."

Nodding, Snaphook flicked his fingers over the dagger to wandlessly _scourgify_ it. He then handed it and another parchment to Hermione.

Startled, Hermione paled. "Please, I _don't_ want to know," she whispered.

"Hermione," Sirius said gently, "we discussed this. Kreacher recognised you. We need to know your birthright."

Feeling Harry and Luna's emotional support, Hermione inhaled sharply and grabbed the dagger. A swift cut on her left middle finger, she squeezed the required three drops onto the parchment – then sucked on her finger with closed eyes. She _really_ didn't want to know, but with Harry and Luna watching the parchment she'd know soon anyway.

Harry's sharp gasp caused her to snap her eyes to the parchment. The sight of it had her shrieking, "_NO_!"

_**Meissa Belladonna Potter Peverell Ravenclaw (née Riddle)**_

_**Hereditary Titles:**_

_Duchess of Ravenclaw – Repository 7_

_Lady Peverell – Repository 10_

_Lady Potter – Repository 11_

_Heiress: House of Slytherin – No Vault_

_Heiress: House of Gaunt – No Vault_

_Trust Vault 2336_

_**Special Abilities:**_

_Animagus – Leopard_

_**Affinity:**_

_Transfiguration, Potions_

_**I.Q.** - 206_

Luna was out of her chair and on the other side of Hermione, when she fell into Harry's lap bawling. Tonks snapped the parchment up, and Sirius and Remus read it from the side. "Well," Remus commented. "That's quite a shock."

"_Several_, I would think," Tonks added, looking at Hermione with concern.

Sirius saw the maiden name and was confused. Looking to the lineage trace, he verified that Bellatrix was her mother – while Tom Marvolo Riddle was her father? "Who's Tom Riddle?"

Harry glared at him, hissing. "Voldemort."

Wide eyed, Snaphook leaned forward to look Harry in the eye. "Is this true?" At his nod, the goblin blinked rapidly while cursing in his native language. After a bit, another goblin entered the room and handed him a key and a small box. "I'll just leave her these," Snaphook said quietly, "and let you to talk amongst yourselves while waiting for your next appointment. I assume that you will not be striking Meissa Potter from the Black Family Line?"

Sirius shook his head. "No. Thank you, Snaphook. May your enemies falter at the sight of you."

The goblin nodded with a grin. "And may your gold ever flow." His business concluded, he collected his things and left the room.

Harry and Luna spent quite a while simply rocking Hermione during her breakdown. "I still love you," they said together. "Don't ever forget that."

"But I'm _horrible_!" Hermione hissed.

Sirius took offence to that. "Hermione, I was the white sheep in the House of Black. Rather than follow my parents' belief in pureblood supremacy, I ran away from home… straight to Potter Manor at the age of sixteen. So, don't you ever judge yourself because of your lineage. _You_ decide who you are, not anyone else," he said rather vehemently.

"He's right Mione," Harry murmured in her ear. "You are Hermione Jane Potter to me, so don't you _ever_ doubt yourself you brilliant and beautiful witch."

"I love you, Harry… Luna," Hermione whimpered.

"We love you too," they chorused.

"Besides," Luna said, "it is not every day you discover that you are married to Duchess Ravenclaw. I am suitably impressed and somewhat aroused."

Hermione's head popped up. "What?"

"It's right here in black and brown," Harry said, taking the parchment to hold up for her to read.

"I will _not_ be called by that name," Hermione stated flatly, glaring at the name on the parchment. "Whatever it takes, I _will_ be Hermione Jane, dammit!"

"It seems that you're going to be a leopard," Sirius opined with a smirk. "I already know what your Marauder name is going to be," he stage whispered.

Hermione glared at him from under her brow. "If it's any variation on the word 'Spot', you won't have any hair for a year," she threatened.

Sirius' head went back with wide eyes, before he squinted at her. "Spoilsport." He pushed the small box towards her with his finger. "Here, put that on."

While she was beyond pleased with her reported I.Q., she picked up the box with a frown. "What's this?" Opening it, she was astonished to see an elegant silver ring. A sapphire was set as the eye of an engraved eagle. "Is this?"

"The Ravenclaw Family Ring, yes," Sirius said with a grin. "Put it on your right middle finger."

Her emotions a complete wreck, Luna had to help her since her hands were shaking. She did grin when Luna commented, 'One day,' as she slid it on her finger. The ring glowed a bright blue, then shrunk to fit her finger. She then shivered as the family magic filled her. "Oh my," she whispered.

"Not to sound completely obtuse," Tonks said, completely confused, "but how does my first cousin rate a family ring?" she grinned when Hermione looked up at her in surprise. "That's right, honey. I'm your first cousin." Her head shifted right and left as she winked at her.

"I think that makes me your Uncle, or something," Sirius said.

Remus shook his head. "First cousin once removed. And according to this," he said with a flick at the parchment, "the last Duchess of Ravenclaw was Merope Riddle (née Gaunt). Somehow, I don't think she knew that."

"Regardless," Sirius said, waving his hand dismissively, "You're _family_, Hermione. And, as I am your Head of House and only struck your insane birth mother from the family, I can legally change your name to Hermione Jane _Black_. Well, _née_ Black, but you get the point."

Hermione beamed at him through her tears, and blubbered out a, "Thank You!"

They were interrupted when the door opened. Luna saw the goblin and lightly squealed. Patting Hermione on the back, she trotted over and bent down to hug him. "Hello Ripfang!"

Ripfang pursed his lips and patted her on her shoulder. "Yes, yes. Hello Miss Lovegood. _I mean_, Lady Potter. I've told you before: Not in front of others. Now please sit down."

"But I hardly ever get to see you, though," Luna pouted.

This caused Ripfang to start laughing. "Only you, my dear," he shook his head. "Only you."

Pleased that she could get him to laugh, Luna took Hermione's seat since she was using Harry for a chair. The others were chuckling, but Remus and Sirius were gaping at her with wide eyes. No one ever heard of anyone actually hugging a goblin before. No one in their right mind even _considered_ it, either. Needless to say, it was beyond odd and very Luna.

Once Ripfang took his seat, he opened his briefcase and took out a similar dagger and parchment along with a wax sealed scroll. The sight of the scroll caused Luna's mood to drop. Hermione and Harry reached over to rub her shoulder and back, respectively.

"As I drafted Xenophilious Lovegood's will, I will spare you the legalities." He snapped the seal and unfurled the scroll to read.

"_I, Xenophilious Lovegood, being of sound mind and body…" _he was interrupted by both Sirius' and Remus' soft snorts and a '_crazy bugger_', _"… hereby leave all my worldly goods and finances, along with all of my shares of the _Quibbler_, to my only daughter, Luna. I am truly sorry to have left you, my dear. I do hope that you will forgive me. _

"_If you have any need before your age of majority, please get in touch with either Arthur Weasley or Andromeda Tonks." _Tonks perked up at that, wondering what that was about._ "However, please mind Molly. She's a right vindictive bird, as you found out when you were eight years old. Regardless, I do hope your mother was right, and that you are currently with your husband and wife. I do not like the idea of leaving you on your own, my moonbeam. For that, I'm not sure I can forgive myself._

"_That being said, if the husband and wife are present at this reading, please take good care of my only child. She's a wonderful girl, and will do anything for you simply out of the kindness of her heart. I entrust you both with her well being, and I do hope my little Luna doesn't join me in the hereafter for an extremely long time._

"_Farewell, my daughter. Know that I love you always._

"_Xenophilius Lovegood"_

By the time Ripfang was finished reading the will, Hermione and Luna had changed places. Harry wished he had enough lap for both of his devastated girls. As it was, Luna was quietly crying into his shoulder while he and Hermione did their best to comfort her.

Harry and Hermione had to help her when it was her turn for the parchment blood drip. She didn't want anything to do with it, and no amount of reassurance that the dagger was pain free would dissuade her. Harry held her hand still while Hermione nicked her thumb. While she sucked on the healing digit, more surprises came.

_**Luna Celeste Potter Peverell Hufflepuff (née Lovegood)**_

_**Hereditary Titles:**_

_Duchess of Hufflepuff – Repository 8_

_Lady Peverell – Repository 10_

_Lady Potter – Repository 11_

_Heiress: House of Lovegood – Vault 206_

_Trust Vault 3489_

_**Special Abilities:**_

_Animagus – White Panther (Leopard)_

_Mage Sight  
_

_True Telepathy  
_

_**Affinity:**_

_Healing, Charms, Beast Lore  
_

_**I.Q.** - 197_

Blinking at the page, Luna and Hermione shared a baffled look. "I do not know what is more disturbing, Hermione – the fact that we are both heirs to two different Founders, or that our animagus forms match."

"Both are highly unlikely," Hermione admitted. "We're also beyond genius level…"

There was a large whap, startling everyone except Ripfang, as Tonks had slapped the table. "_Another_ Founder? We've got Ravenclaw, but which are you?" she half asked, half shouted with wide eyes. Remus put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Hufflepuff," Luna said quietly, wiping her eyes with a conjured handkerchief from Sirius.

Harry frowned. "Something else that's odd – What's with both of you having _Peverell_ in your names?"

"I think that has something to do with you, Harry, since they both have it as well as Potter," Sirius said as the same goblin entered again with another key and wooden box.

Tonks thought about that. "Isn't Peverell the name of 'The Three Brothers'?"

"I thought that was just a wizarding fairy tale," Remus half asked.

"Might be more to it than that," Sirius commented.

Ripfang slid the box over to sit in front of Harry and Luna, with her two vault keys on top of it. She looked at him, a touch confused. "Why both? I thought I had to be of age to access the Lovegood Family Vault."

"Once you're married, you're considered an emancipated adult," Ripfang explained somewhat gently for a goblin. It was a bit disturbing to see a gentle goblin, to tell the truth.

Pocketing her keys, Luna flicked the box open with her thumb and actually cooed at the golden ring. Much like the Ravenclaw one, it was decidedly feminine with an onyx set as the eye of the engraved badger head. "It's so pretty," she grinned. Like Sirius and Hermione before, the ring sized itself to her finger with a golden glow and gave her a rush of family magic.

Her mouth hung open from the rather rapid tingles she felt, then smiled. "That was _extremely_ pleasant."

Eyeing his godson, Sirius speculated. "Two left, Harry. Any idea which is yours?"

"I speak Parseltongue and drew the sword of Gryffindor," Harry said with a shrug. "Wouldn't surprise me in the least if it's both."

"Cynical much, Harry?" Tonks asked with a wry grin.


	11. Gringotts II

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Eleven  
- Gringotts II -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat, except the plot._

_Well, after announcing the reworking, I got a lot of feedback advising against it. I concede that it would disrupt things. So, I'll do it after this story is done. :)_

_BTW: Writing this half of Gringotts was a royal pain. It seems far too clunky to me, and was fighting me all week. So, sorry if it doesn't flow all that well. I might rewrite it later, but all the points will remain the same._

_Regardless…_

_On with the show!_

* * *

Chapter Eleven**  
- Gringotts II -**

_Eyeing his godson, Sirius speculated. "Two left, Harry. Any idea which is yours?"_

_"I speak Parseltongue and drew the sword of Gryffindor," Harry said with a shrug. "Wouldn't surprise me in the least if it's both."_

_"Cynical much, Harry?" Tonks asked with a wry grin._

* * *

He gave her a chastising look. "With _my_ luck? I faced the Dark Tosser in my first year at Hogwarts, then a shade of him as well as a sixty foot basilisk my second year. Third year was all about the dementors wanting to eat me and the first true family I found. And _last_ year had me competing in the Tri-Wizard Tournament against my will. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if the Potter Family Motto is '_Murphy was an Optimist_'."

Tonks and Hermione snorted, while Remus and Luna had wry grins. Seeing the look of confusion from Sirius, Hermione explained while Luna comforted Harry with a kiss to the temple. "That's based on a muggle phrase. Captain Edward Murphy from the United States was on a project in the forties, designed to see how much sudden deceleration a person could withstand in a crash."

"That's easy," Sirius interrupted. "Just look at the seeker from the Cannons from all the bad Wronski Feints he tried. He's still alive, last I checked."

After the chuckles from that died down, Hermione continued. "_Anyway_, Murphy was an engineer, whom I would guess had problems discerning left from right, _or was dyslexic_, because inevitably his wirings were backwards as often as they were done correctly." She nodded at the face Remus made at that. "Yeah. A lot of unhappy accidents, there. At any rate, several of his co-workers wrote up a list of 'laws' concerning him. The most popular one in muggle culture was 'If anything can go wrong, it will'. So, what Harry said was basically stating that _Sod's Law_ was being hopeful," she grinned.

Sirius immediately bust out laughing. "You are so much like your father, Harry, it's damn near cruel." The door opened at that point, and he straightened up in his seat. "Whoop, you're up Pronglet."

As they stood, the sextet was completely gobsmacked to see a small contingent of goblins enter the room. Six guards preceded an elaborately armoured goblin, whose armour shone a combination of bronze and green. Hermione and Harry weren't surprised to discover that there were six other guards that were disillusioned. Luna had spotted the other guards in the portkey atrium, and these were just as visible to her.

The regal appearing goblin sat on a conjured pedestal-like throne that had him at eye level, while two 'regular' goblins in business suits placed their cases on the end of the table. Harry, and then the others bowed to the obviously important goblin.

"You may be seated," the goblin said, striking the others as odd, seeing as how this was the first goblin that they heard having a rather resonating baritone voice. "My name to Wizarding kind, is Director Ragnok. Amongst the twelve goblin nations, I am referred to as Warlord Chief Ragnok. The title is equivalent to King, but it is not hereditary."

"Combat trials?" Harry asked, honestly curious.

Ragnok's grimacing grin was menacing when he nodded. "Indeed, Heir Apparent Potter. Once every ten years, the leaders of the twelve nations commit themselves to the Megathere. I have won the last five."

Mixed looks of shock and respect went across the witches and wizards. Luna thought it was fascinating, while Hermione was trying to figure out the normal lifespan of a goblin. Harry simply grinned his respect and lightly bowed his head. "You honour us with your presence, Warlord Chief. May I ask why you are proceeding over this? In all honesty, it seems to be a bit beneath your station."

The two bank officials and the guards seemed to be fighting their amusement, but Ragnok didn't restrain his deep laughter. "So much like your grandfather! He said much the same when I presided over his inheritance."

Harry looked confused, but there was a hunger in his eyes. Any information about his family was like food to him. The girls noticed and each took one of his hands in support. After a false start, he finally asked, "You knew my grandfather?"

"Your family's stature within the goblin nations demands oversight at the highest levels," Ragnok said proudly. Seeing the look of pure confusion on Harry's face, he frowned. "I can see that you know nothing of this. Your guardian was entrusted to educate you of your legacy. Has Dumbledore not done so?"

Ragnok's eyes widened at the near goblin ferocity that overcame the six humans. Lord Black's hissed statement shocked him. "That old bastard has a lot to answer for. _I_ was to be Harry's guardian, not him. And, Alice Longbottom was to take him if I died. Our oaths as his godparents _demanded_ as such."

"I see," Ragnok said quietly, looking disturbed. "This would be the reason that the Potter Will was suppressed and sealed. Fortunately, Ministry influence has no bearing within Gringotts." The old goblin paused in thought. "I wonder if the marriage contract was part of that?"

Luna and Hermione stood sharply. Hermione's shout of 'What?' was equally matched by Luna's 'Who?' Harry just sat there, wide eyed, along with the adults across the table.

"Be at peace, ladies," Ragnok said quietly with a grin. "There were two such contracts. One has been fulfilled," he said, staring Luna in the eyes, "which nullified the other that was conscripted by Dumbledore."

"Me?" Luna asked, a bit shocked. "Papa would have told me," she whispered, feeling a bit betrayed. Harry squeezed her hand, while he and Hermione sent their support through the bond.

"I agree, he would have," Sirius stated. "Unless of course he'd been obliviated." Seeing her look of shock, he nodded. "Tonks and I both were by Dumbledore. We remembered each time he did so after we went through that arch of your family's."

Luna slumped into her seat, while Ragnok cleared his throat. "The Potters and the Lovegoods signed the contract while your mother was pregnant with you, Lady Potter. Regardless, soul bonds supersede any and all contracts of marriage. Your unprecedented trinary bond holds even more weight in the matter. Do not worry about the Weasley contract, as it is now null and void."

"Ginny?" Hermione shrieked. At Ragnok's nod, one of the torches lining the walls flamed out as the others became more intense.

Harry tugged Hermione into his lap again, and began rubbing her back in small circles. "Calm down, Mione. It's not going to happen now."

While Harry was talking Hermione down, Remus and Tonks shared a look. They hadn't told them what happened with the Weasleys yet, and both silently agreed to wait on that with slight shakes of the head at each other.

For his part, Sirius kept himself surprisingly quiet. His fists were clenched as he silently fumed. _'I can't believe that rotten old fart tried to marry him off. I'll admit that Luna was a shock, but Hermione was a given with how they act together. Hell, they operate in each other's space like they've been married for years.'_

It took a few minutes for Hermione to calm down, with both Harry and Luna doing their best to soothe her. Deciding that things were best left as they were, with Harry being Hermione's seat, the three looked to Ragnok and nodded.

"Very well," he nodded to the goblin on his left. A sealed scroll parchment was handed to him. "This will is short, but as it was done during a time of war, so this isn't that unusual. Other than everything, including titles, businesses, and assets, there are two letters to you that your parents wrote while in hiding. As stated, the Potter Estate was willed by James Harrison Potter to his only son, Harold James Potter."

The first reaction Harry had was to exclaim, "My name is _Harold_? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"You… _didn't_ know?" Sirius asked while Remus and Tonks just gaped at him.

The table started rattling as the few loose objects on it started to float. Hermione slipped off his lap, so she and Luna could hold him from both sides, as he was close to exploding. "I didn't even know my own _name_ until my first roll call in _primary_! It was _Boy_ this, or _Freak_ that!" Harry shouted.

Seeing their shocked looks, Harry stood and planted his palms on the table – which was still vibrating – and glared. "_Do you want to see the scars_?" he asked in a whisper that filled the room.

Luna and Hermione knew Harry was about to pop, and they both held on to the raging tide that was forming. "Harry, calm down," Hermione pleaded.

"You are about to have a magical accident," Luna whispered in his other ear. "You _must_ stop and think."

Harry stood up straight with closed eyes. His hands fisted and came up to his chest as he tried to reign himself in. Slowly, things settled back down as the table stopped rattling. "Sorry," he whispered. "I'm not used to having this much power."

Sirius was angry and apologetic all at once. "If I had known that you didn't know," he said quietly, "I would have told you."

Remus sat there and nodded while fuming inside. "Harry, I promise you that we had no idea you were kept in the dark like this."

"Like a bloody mushroom," Harry spat bitterly. "Kept in the dark and fed manure until the time was right for the fucking 'Greater Good' of Albus Dumbledore."

The goblin on Ragnok's left slid a parchment and silvered dagger in front of Harry. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he kissed Hermione and Luna on the cheek and whipped the dagger over his finger to let it bleed properly for the blood hereditary test.

If it was tense before, things got positively rigid after the parchment revealed the secrets that Harry didn't even know he wanted to know about.

_**Harold James Potter Peverell Gryffindor**_

_**Hereditary Titles:**_

_Duke of Gryffindor – Repository 6_

_Earl of Myrddin – Modern: Earl of Emrys (Muggle: Earl of Anglesey) – Speciality Clause 1_

_Lord Peverell – Repository 10_

_Lord Potter – Repository 11_

_Head of Slytherin by Conquest – No Vault_

_Count Clackmannanshire_

_Baron Devon_

_Heir Apparent: House of Black _

_Trust Vault 687_

_**Special Abilities:**_

_Animagus – Black Panther (Leopard)_

_Metamorphmagus (Minor)_

_Parselmouth_

_Previously Unrecorded Abilities: 2_

_**Affinity:**_

_Parselmagic, Transfiguration, Charms_

_**I.Q.** - 185_

The temperature in the room fell to the point that breath was visible. Harry blinked once after reading it, and looked up at Tonks. "Looks like I was right. Both."

As for Tonks, she had sat there during both near magical outbursts and did her best to keep quiet. The amount of magic in the air was intense and nearly overwhelming. It was only Harry's deadpan at her that broke her from her stunned expression with a small snort. She tilted her head to the side and smirked while she shivered. "What do you expect? You're _Harry Fucking Potter_."

That broke the tension as the six humans and the contingent of goblins all started chuckling. The room warmed with the humour. Harry shook his head and looked at his godfather. "So, what's this about being the Heir Apparent to the House of Black?"

Sirius was all smiles. "Did you honestly think I'd let anything go to that blond ponce Malfoy? If I don't have an heir before I die, then everything would have gone to Draco. This is my way of yanking Lucius' sack."

Hermione looked confused, so Tonks explained. "Draco's mum is Narcissa Malfoy. Her maiden name is Black, and is my mum's other sister."

The light dawned on Hermione's face, and Harry and Luna were a half second late before she was completely appalled. "_DRACO_ IS MY FIRST COUSIN?"

"Yeah, you get used to it," Tonks said with a sigh. "Fortunately though, he's the cast out now."

"Blacklisted, even," Remus said with a straight face, earning several cringing looks in his direction.

"I swear, your puns are going to kill someone someday," Sirius said with a pained sigh.

The door opened, and the goblin that brought the other rings came in with with several keys and boxes. He set them on the table and made a quick exit. Harry pocketed the keys and gave the boxes the once over. "Is there any sort of order to this madness, or does it matter which I start with?"

"I would suggest the Potter and Peverell rings," Sirius said, sliding the box with the Potter seal forward.

The girls took the box and opened it. The Potter crest gleamed as Hermione took it out and placed it on Harry's right middle finger. The ring glowed and shrunk to fit, then all three of them inhaled sharply, looking toward their left hands.

"Well then," Remus said with a grin. "Guess that proves you three are married."

"Bit of a head rush there," Harry said as he stared at the wedding band on his left ring finger.

Sirius nodded. "That was the family magic." He looked back and forth. "Interesting how the girls' rings match."

"Not quite," Tonks said. "They have different gemstones."

"No they don't," Remus countered. "They're just in different order."

The three wedding bands had three stones each: A ruby, emerald and opal. Harry's had the emerald close to the rest of his hand, with the ruby on the right and the opal on the left. Hermione's had the ruby close to her hand, with the emerald on the right and the opal to the left. Luna's was with the opal to the hand, with the emerald on the right and ruby to the left.

While the girls were grinning at their rings, Harry looked to Ragnok. "Uhm, not to sound dense or anything, but where do the other rings go?"

Ragnok nodded. "Just place them on your right middle finger like the others. The magic will cause them to merge. You can let any one of them be visible, or let them stay hidden."

"Okay," Harry said, still confused. Still, he took the Peverell box and quickly put the ring on. It was odd, seeing them morph together, but he was distracted by the Peverell magic that filled him and the girls both gasping as all three of their wedding bands became more elaborate.

Everyone was quiet when Harry went for the one of the two crests he knew: Gryffindor. The ring went on smoothly and merged with the other rings, and Harry was the only one who felt the family magic. The Slytherin ring did the same, but Harry tilted his head when he heard it whispering to him. He didn't understand it since it was so quiet, but he was able to hear the words 'finally' and 'successor'.

The last ring was an unknown, and Harry brought it up. "Which ring is this?"

"That is the Emrys family ring, Lord Potter," Ragnok said quietly.

Harry was the last one to catch what that meant, and that was only because Luna and Hermione made the connection. "Merlin," he swore.

"Literally," Tonks deadpanned with shock on her face.

Taking the ring out, it appeared to be somewhat simple in comparison to the others. A silver signet ring like the Slytherin one, but a single band instead of the triple braided one. The signet itself was blue, similar to the Ravenclaw one, but had a silver dragon instead of an eagle.

Harry gingerly placed the ring on and watched it merge with the others. The feeling of magic that filled him was somewhat anticlimactic in comparison to the others. However, everyone started looking at him rather strangely. "What?"

"Harry," Hermione said quietly. "Your hair has grown."

"And your eyes are glowing," Luna whispered with a smile.

A mirror appeared on the table with a gesture from Ragnok, and he saw what they were talking about. His normally green eyes were literally green from iris to the whites, glowing softly. Blinking rapidly for a bit, he closed his eyes and tried to pull in whatever was causing this. After a strange sensation, he opened his eyes to see his normal appearance. However, his eyes seemed to be even more green than normal. "Interesting," he commented, before looking to Ragnok. "Thank you."

Ragnok nodded and vanished the conjured mirror. Looking to his right, he had the other goblin open his case to hand out several folders to Harry. "These are your holdings," the unnamed goblin said. "The red folders are your properties. The blues are your businesses. The yellow has your holdings within Gringotts."

Hermione and Luna looked over Harry's shoulders as he looked through the properties. He had two manors within the British Isles. One in Wales, the other in Scotland. There were a few others as well. The one in France got Hermione's attention, while one in Scandinavia made Luna grin.

They were interrupted by Sirius. "Uh, pup? Not to be a real bore, but how exactly are you reading all that?"

Harry blinked and felt his face. The lack of glasses was readily apparent, and it completely confused him. "I have no idea." He looked to his right. "Hermione?"

She shrugged and looked at Luna, who tilted her head with a scrunched expression. "It might have something to do with that black mass that was removed from you, Harry."

"I beg your pardon?" Remus blurted.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. That was horrific. The Lovegood Arch pulled a lot of stuff out of you, Harry. We don't know what that was, but it was really…" he trailed off and shivered.

"It actually looked at us," Luna said. "It was most disturbing."

Harry and Hermione's heads went back slightly as they relived Luna's memory of the event. As one, they whispered, "Voldemort."

"Pardon?" Sirius said. "Sounded like you said the Dark Tosser's name, there."

"It came out of your scar, Harry," Hermione said.

Nodding, Harry thought about all the different times that his scar stabbed him with pain. His left hand unconsciously fretted with the bandage on his forehead as he thought about all the times it hurt. "It only hurt when he was involved," he said quietly. "Quirrell could make it hurt with a simple look when he was possessed. That shade from Riddle's diary wasn't quite as bad, but it was there. Then dealing with him after the third task… The pain was worse than the torture curses Voldemort hit me with. It was how I was able to get away even when hit with it. It just didn't measure up."

"Surely he did not," Ragnok said with a frown. "What you are describing, we have witnessed in several of our dealings in Egypt."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Soul jars," Ragnok said half to himself.

Sirius looked appalled. "Horcrux?"

Ragnok nodded. "That would be a decent synonym, Lord Black."

"It's just Sirius," he said. "Kreacher said that mass felt like my brother's locket." Pausing, he looked back to Ragnok. "There are references in the Black Library to Horcruxes, including what it entails. Do you know how many can be made from one person?"

Ragnok sat back at the question. "One is horrendous enough. To make more than one would do untold damage."

"Well, he doesn't look human," Harry said quietly. "More serpentine, by the look of him. Slits for a nose; bald; grey skin; red eyes…"

Luna and Hermione shuddered like the others at the description, which would have been enough. However, they saw him through Harry's eyes while he described him, and witnessed the cemetery ritual. That made Hermione think. "Bone of the father, flesh of the servant, blood of the enemy."

"That is a Dark Ritual," Ragnok said unnecessarily. "That was what was used to bring him back?" At their nods, he sighed. "In one context, this is a good thing." He held his hand up when they started protesting. "As a homunculus, he has no rights under Goblin Law."

"Well, that's something," Sirius said a bit pessimistically.

"More than you know," Ragnok said. "He will be unable to utilize Gringotts for his finances."

Harry's head went back in shock as he remembered what Hermione went through the previous night. Snapping his head to look at her, he saw her looking at him already, a bit scared. "Is that why?" she asked in a whisper.

"Secondary finances," Harry said just as quiet. "Ragnok, does Gringotts have any influence in the muggle world? He might have taken that rule into account and had a backup plan."

"We do, and we'll look into it, Lord Potter," Ragnok nodded. "This locket, can you bring it to us Sirius?"

Sirius frowned. "That may be problematic. The London Black Manor is currently the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

"You could get Kreacher to retrieve it," Luna offered.

Sirius winced at that. "Not sure I trust him."

"He'll follow your orders," Tonks said. "Leave no wriggle room, and he'll have to."

Nodding, Sirius looked back to Ragnok. "If we can get it to you and it's a Horcrux, do you have a way to destroy it?"

"We do," Ragnok said. "For a fee, of course."

"Of course," Sirius said with a grin.

Luna tilted her head. "If the fee is too large, we should be able to do it ourselves with the arch."

"Sweetheart, that exhausted both of us," Sirius said. "Personally, I'd rather let the professionals do it."

"How do you do it?" Harry asked.

Ragnok had a fierce grin. "A ritual to transfer the fragment to a pig. We then roast it." All six of them shuddered at that, which made the old goblin chuckle. "Oh, don't be that way. It's a time honoured tradition. At least we don't eat sentients."

As the discussion about the horcruxes went on, Harry was drawn to the business folders and flipped through them. A small grin formed on his face as something caught his eye. This was soon followed by Hermione and Luna. Seeing this, Tonks beat the other two to the question. "Okay Harry, what's got you three with the evil smiles there?"

"That's a grin worthy of a Marauder," Remus commented.

Sirius nodded. "Used to see that one right before James would launch a hysterical prank." He glanced back and forth between Hermione and Luna. "_Although_, seeing it on the girls' faces too, makes me want to hide in a hole somewhere." Remus nodded rapidly at that.

Harry looked up to catch each of them in the eye briefly, before focussing on Sirius. "According to this, I hold the controlling interest of shares in the _Daily Prophet_."

That bit of information briefly stunned the men, before they slowly mirrored Harry with their own evil grins. "You _do_ realize what this means, Harry?" Remus asked.

Harry simply nodded as he and the girls formed various plans for positive propaganda. "My first act as the Chief of the Board, will be to either reign in one Rita Skeeter, or fire her outright."

"Might be better to keep her, Harry," Luna said quietly, startling the others. "She's a well known reporter, and we can use her."

"As much as it pains me to say it, Luna has a point," Hermione said as she stared off in the 'distance'. "Many believe anything she writes as gospel. If we were to give her the proper incentives and protections, we would have a golden bullet to the hearts and minds of the majority of Magical Britain. God, I wish I was wrong."

As the night went on, the meeting changed from financial to property to plans for the future. All told, it was a rather productive meeting. Emotions ran hot when James and Lily's intentions for Harry's placement came to light. After Sirius and the Longbottoms, Remus was next in line which infuriated the former werewolf. After him were the Bones. The last in line was Minerva McGonagall, which upset Hermione more than anything else.

"Moony," Sirius said quietly as they made for the portkey atrium, "Don't look now, but we're outnumbered." Seeing his friend's confused expression, he elaborated. "The next generation of Marauders are all _cats_."


	12. Quiet Riot

_**"HP: Bloodties" AU  
'Chaos of the Phoenix'  
**__Chapter Twelve  
- Quiet Riot -_

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't own squat. That mad woman who does paired the dumbest character with the smartest, and left the hero with the stalker. Sorry Lady, but that was pretty damned stupid in my opinion._

_Questions have been asked as to why this story name is prefaced with "Bloodties AU". Simply put, this alternate universe has Hermione Granger being Belatrix LeStrange's daughter – hence the blood ties reference. Sorry for any confusion._

_My word, it's been a while since I've updated. SO sorry. Between being ill and the pain involved, I've been doing more reading than plot developing. This chapter is more filler than anything else, and I apologise for that. Still, there's a bit of foreshadowing going on that will be completely relevant in the near future._

* * *

In the Sanctuary Home, Tonks was looking over the various copies of the hereditary blood test parchments, while the others were nibbling on a somewhat light midnight snack. Her bite of muffin paused in her mouth as she spied something, and swallowed before speaking. "Harry? This says you're a minor metamorph. Have you ever had something change in your appearance? Hair? Skin? Anything like that? I mean, aside from that bit when you put Merlin's ring on, of course."

Looking upward, Harry swallowed his bits of his ham sandwich, thinking about it. "Well, when I was five or six, Aunt Petunia took me to get my hair cut. The next morning it was back to the mess you see before you," he said with a pensive grin. "Got beat for '_wasting money_'."

Ignoring the growling from Remus and Sirius, and the looks of anger from the girls, Tonks looked him in the eye. "Okay. I want you to do something for me." At Harry's nod, she continued. "Close your eyes, and imagine your hair touching your shoulders. If it helps, think of Sirius' hair."

Harry tilted his head slightly, thinking about it. Straightening up, he closed his eyes and lifted his head a bit – imagining having Sirius' hair. There was that rather odd sensation all along his scalp again, and there were slight intakes of breath from the others.

Tonks was grinning wide at him when he opened his eyes, then conjured a mirror for him. Instead of just lengthening, Harry's hair mimicked the lazy wave of his godfather's hair perfectly.

"Damn, pup, you look good!" Sirius grinned.

While Remus and Tonks looked at Sirius with raised brows, Hermione and Luna leaned forward to get a better look at Harry from either side. Both of their brows were furrowed, and they glanced at each other before shaking their heads. "Nah."

Harry shook his head, and his hair fell straight. That got a grin out of the girls, and he stared at himself in the mirror. "Doesn't stick up this way. Might keep it like this."

"I won't mind," Hermione whispered.

"I agree," Luna said with a slight nod. "Just not quite as long. Shoulder length, maybe?"

Glancing at Tonks to picture the length, Harry shook his head again. This time there were amused looks and some snickers. "What?"

"Uhm, Harry?" Hermione said quietly. "The colour is a bit… off."

Looking down at the mirror, he blanched when he saw the shocking bubblegum pink hair. Tonks, still grinning, snickered. "I have a little brother!" she exclaimed gleefully.

"Uhm, no," Hermione said flatly. "If he's your brother, then that means he's _also_ my first cousin. Let's not go there shall we? Ick."

"Spoil my fun," Tonks pouted, before looking at Harry again. "Can I adopt you? I promise to embarrass you at every turn, like a proper older sister should." Her hopeful smile was playful, with her eyes a touch larger than normal.

"You'd do that anyway," Harry said with a smirk. He closed his eyes, and his hair returned to its normal length and colour. Nodding at the mirror, he looked up again a bit sheepish. "I think I'll work on that later. By the way, what does _minor_ mean anyway?"

"Colour mostly," Tonks said. "Length of hair and nails. I'm about the middle of the road with it, myself. There haven't been masters of it in generations, and they could change their height as well as features. Read once about Mordant Glasgow, who lived in the 1600's, that could make himself look like a goblin."

"Useful, that," Remus said, "if he wanted to get his head chopped off in Gringotts."

Tonks looked at him and smirked. "Oh, you read that book?"

* * *

The night shift guard change was unannounced. Richard Ploughshare, the squib boatman that ferried Aurors, Prisoners and Guards back and forth to the Prison, gave a bit of a fuss when his shack door was knocked on. He opened the door to find a wand in his face. A muttered _imperio_ blew all thoughts of bed out of his mind.

* * *

Anticipation was at an all time high in several cells of Azkaban. Most were looking out their cell windows or doors, but a few were actually pacing their six by eight cells like caged animals, irony notwithstanding. Two however, were simply staring out their small windows, doing their best not to twitch.

Not many of them were sane, save for these two, (and one other, but no one knew about that.) As for them, they were kicking themselves for not trying to escape like Black did. It was only after the guards placed anti-animagus wards that they realized their mistake. It wasn't like they could've fit between the bars, but it was the principle of the thing, you see.

As it was, Rudolphus and Rabastan Lestrange were the ones to notice the boat coming up to the dock. "Twenty Minutes!" Rabastan shouted.

* * *

Four people were watching what looked to be a rather strange staring contest. Tonks had Harry simply attempt to follow her through different hairstyles and colours. Only two colours were seemingly impossible for him: Orange and Purple. Purple was odd since he could do blue and red so easily. However, he had trouble when she switched it up with different shades and hues.

It seemed that he could do the primary colours in a somewhat muted fashion. Even going back to that mistake of the bright bubblegum pink didn't happen. The natural colours were simple in comparison. However, his natural ginger was more like his mother's, according to Moony and Padfoot at any rate.

Pausing, Tonks tilted her head. "Harry, are you doing that on purpose?"

"Doing what?" he asked with a wide eyed innocent expression. The pair of nodding heads on either side of him completely ruined the attempt, though.

"Leave off," Sirius said. "I don't think he likes trying for girly pastel colours. I know I wouldn't. Anyway, we've only been up for about eight hours, but I think we still need to stick to a day schedule. Lets head off to the land of Nod, shall we?"

Padfoot thought he'd have to coerce them just a bit. As soon as he suggested bed however, the lower room became vacant so quickly that he thought they'd apperated. "I really need a girl," he lamented.

* * *

All in all, it was a rather quiet breakout … all things considered. Of the six guards, only two weren't either branded Death Eaters or sympathizers. The two that hadn't been marked took them readily, after they _crucio'd_ the other two guards until their minds snapped. One AK'd his, but the other got a approving nod from the entrails expulsion curse.

After retrieving the runestone key for the cells, the Death Eaters went throughout the prison. Prisoners that didn't accept Voldemort were summarily killed. Others, and mostly the lifers, took their mark with a touch of sadistic glee. Only one prisoner escaped without a mark or death, and that was solely due to her being an animagus.

The repatriated Death Eaters were given several nutrient potions to help them walk. Only Bellatrix was given an impromptu round of cleaning charms. It wasn't as good as a bath, but it sufficed enough to ward away the stench of over a decade.

After Voldemort finished _scorgify__ing_ Bellatrix clean, _and charming her mouth_, the two embraced with a snog that caused the pair to darken as their auras meshed. Once that was settled, she ran her fingers over her face where his nose used to be. "What happened?"

"Potter's blood was contaminated," Voldemort replied with a scowl.

Bella tilted her head as she studied him. "It doesn't matter if you're alive. That's all I care about, Master."

Smiling indulgently, Lord Voldemort turned his head and barked out an order. "We're done! Take our brethren home."

* * *

At the Fae Mound, Tonks finally got her way with Remus. It might have been more fair to say 'aggressively got her way', but Remus was hardly complaining.

Two rooms down, Luna and Hermione silently agreed to the order of their deflowering by virtue of who met Harry first.

Oblivious to all the intimate moments going on in the house, mainly due to an overcharged silencing ward around the couch, Sirius slept rather fitfully. He never noticed a certain snowy owl staring at him in confusion for most of the night.

Not once during the breakout did Harry's scar put up a fuss. Even if it did, he most likely would never have noticed. All of his attention was on two lovely witches, and how they had insisted he be on his back while they made a go for their first time.

Like Remus, Harry wasn't complaining either.


End file.
